The Youma Hunter
by Spyash2
Summary: Lost in a strange world riddled with demons and with no way to get back home, a mighty warrior catches the eye of the Organization. Co-Written with Drunkmansquawkin.
1. Chapter 1

Deep within the citadel of Staff, a fortified city built into the mountains to the far east of the continent, a bald man in black, sporting sunglasses and a fedora stood before his leader in the great hall.

In the throne before him, said leader, Rimuto, addressed him. "So, what have you found, Rubel?"

The now-named Rubel tipped his hat in a respectful manner with a sly grin as he replied. "It would appear that the rumors are true. This so-called Youma Hunter has been roaming about the South, where he appears to have first popped up. He's not very mobile, so I assume he's been traveling on foot."

"He, you say…?" Rimuto mused aloud. "After those rumours of this so called Youma Hunter being able to combat dozens of youma at once and win, I assumed he was one of ours that went rebellious."

"So did I," Rubel agreed with a slight tilt of his head. "But after investigating, there has been many supporting accounts on the young man's description: dark clothes, with a type of dark red cloak with what seems to resemble flames on the hem; a black facial mask that keeps the lower half of his face hidden; a piece of cloth tied to his forehead with some strange writing engraved on the horned metal plate on the front; blue eyes and spiky-blond hair. He is surprisingly hard to locate as he disappears almost as soon as he finishes killing the youma. He also has this uncanny ability to know exactly who is a youma and who isn't."

One man in the room didn't like the sound of that - their main scientist to be precise. This man wore a hooded holocaust cloak and half of his face seemed to have been burnt off in a fire… which it was. Muscle was exposed, and his eye was constantly open due to a lack of an eyelid; this also included the inside of his mouth. "Could he be from the mainland?" Dae asked. "An ally of the Asarakam?"

"I was not informed of anyone on the Mainland with his description," Rimuto said with a shake of his head. "Let alone anyone with that description aligned with our enemy." he looked at Rubel once more and asked, "What else have you discovered about him?"

"From what I garnered from the reports, he appears to be a professional assassin," the man replied. "He fights like one, according to the few witnesses who've spotted him. Though he seems to prefer direct confrontations for the most part, he will use hit and run tactics to get an advantage if he is outnumbered, as implied by the latest report I found. Before that, no one had ever seen nor heard of him before. It is like he just appeared out of thin air."

"Should we capture him?" One of the Handlers asked, making Dae perk up at the thought. "If he keeps this up we'll lose funds and they'll want _him_ to protect them instead of us."

"He is but one man…" Rimuto said dismissively; then his frown turning thoughtful for a moment. "However, it would be wise to keep tabs on him. If this Youma Hunter is capable of fighting dozens of youma at once without outside help, then it would be pertinent to know how he does it in the likelihood that he is an ally of the Asarakam."

"I can see the benefits of that." Rubel agreed, "If we were to send someone to find him, then they can keep tabs on him… maybe even distract him or keep this Yuma Hunter in one place so we can ignore him and carry on with business as usual."

"But who do we send?"

Rubel shrugged. "If we want to distract him and keep tabs on him at the same time then sending a single digit warrior will suffice. The South is more dangerous than the North and the West, due to the sheer amount of youma there. We can have one of our Single Digit warriors go on a search for him."

"Who do you have in mind?" Rimuto asked.

"The Number 8, Windcutter Flora," Rubel answered, "She is approachable and well-mannered. Her region in the South is also the nearest to the last known location the Youma Hunter was spotted at."

"That sounds reasonable enough," Rimuto nodded with satisfaction. "Number 8, Windcutter Flora, shall be reassigned to search for this Youma Hunter, then."

* * *

A few days later, walking through the plains of Mucha, Flora let out a tired sigh. This Youma Hunter was not an easy man to track down, but thankfully, word got out about a few youma in the town before her being killed off by a man of the description she'd been given. Upon hearing the news from the woman with her, the two of them hightailed it here as quickly as they could, so she could hopefully pick up his trail from there.

Bidding her young guide adieu with a thankful nod, the curly-haired Number Eight made her way to the town. It shouldn't take her long to get there with the current pace she's taking. It'll take her a couple of hours, ten at most, depending if she gets side tracked by any youma that tries to take her by surprise. She hoped he would be there by the time she arrives. It's tiring having to track this surprisingly elusive Youma Hunter down.

One long walk later, Flora heard a thunder of whispers emanating from the denizens as she finally entered the town the Youma Hunter was said to be in. As usual they were wondering what the 'Silver-Eyed Witch' was doing here, but she was used to it by now. She surveyed the town and the buildings that made it… she had a lot of ground to cover; but still, how hard can it be to find one person wearing black clothes, a piece of cloth with a spiked metal plate on it, and a dark red cloak with flames?

It should be easy to find someone bearing that description... Right?

That was easier said than done to be honest. Flora was used to searching youma, because they had a corrupted energy that only hybrids like herself can track. Humans on the other hand were more... tricky. Luckily for Flora, she was used to tracking humans…

What? There's a reason the South had a lack of bandit attacks. She hunted them down and butchered them; no one's found out about it because she was damn careful to not let it track back to her. By now, well over 15 years after she'd started, the woman had practically and quite cheerfully turned the art of getting away with vigilante mass murder into an art form.

Flora was knocked out of her thoughts of how fun it was to mass exterminate those scumbags she'd hunted down last week when she felt a spike of yoki in the vicinity, and she snapped her head in the direction she sensed it coming from. There was quite a few of them as well… and everyone else snapped their heads in the direction they heard screaming.

"YOUMA! THERE ARE YOUMAS HERE!"

Flora didn't hesitate. The second she heard the word 'Youma', she was already on the move with her claymore drawn. Pure instinct drove her as she charged forth to murder the beasts before they could cause any harm.

* * *

Several seconds prior

As he heard screaming around him a young, blond-haired man yanked his trench knife out of the back of the skull from the disguised youma that tried walking past him with a twist of a blade. The boy in question was wearing dark clothes, a dark red coat with flames on the bottom, a black facial mask that keeps the lower half of his face hidden and a horned forehead protector. This was the Youma Hunter.

With a spray of purple blood, spewing from the head wound the young man pushed the corpse and let it fall to the ground as it transformed back into its real form. Skin turned a dark grey, and his clothes and shoes were shredded as the muscles expanded.

Almost immediately, his killing of the first youma had made the other five transform into their true purple and grey skinned forms. Clothes were torn as their muscles expanded ad bulked out. Hands sharpened into claws. Teeth became jagged, and eyes became gold and cat-like. One even grew wings!

The reaction of the populace around him was one the young man was expecting.

"YOUMA!" Screamed a woman. "THERE ARE YOUMAS HERE!"

The second the woman screamed that everyone in the vicinity went into a panic and ran away as fast as they could. Lest they end up becoming victims of the unholy monsters that infiltrated their town.

"Hmmm…" the young man hummed as he noticed the youma had surrounded him on all sides, "One, two, three, four and five…" he counted. "Hmm. It seems I'm outnumbered 5 to 1…" he smirked under his face mask, and skillfully twirled his knife in his palm before clenching the handle with the blade facing outwards, "I like those odds."

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL EAT YOUR GUTS!"

As if that was the signal to attack the four remaining youma roared as they lunged at the masked blond, hoping to overwhelm him with numbers alone. Unfortunately, it would appear that their plan to hunt the hunter backfired on them as he swiftly dispatched the first two before they even had a chance to blink. He rolled under the lunge of another and flipped himself up and over her, throwing the knife into the back of her neck… and _through_ it. She was dead before she hit the ground.

The last two stopped and turned tail, but Naruto was on their heels, taking the first out with three throwing knives to the kidneys and spine, only for him to come to a surprised stop when he saw the second seemingly fall apart into a pile of bloody purple chunks.

"Huh… that's new," he commented; and that was when he noticed he was not alone.

Beside what was now a purple pile of ground beef was a silver-eyed woman, with wavy pale-blonde hair. She wore plate sabatons, which was basically a pair of plate boots, a fauld that was basically a plate skirt, a pair of plate wrist protectors, pauldrons, and a backplate that acted as the holder for her sword, with a cape; she also wore a two piece skin-tight light grey bodysuit underneath.

Her sword was back in the slot of her back plate and her arms were crossed, as if she hadn't even used it. The masked blond knew better, even if he hadn't even seen her draw or put away her weapon. An impressive feat to say the least...

"Finally found you," the stunning, curly-haired blonde said with a friendly smile. As she looked at his attire, the woman took note the dark red cloak was not in fact a cloak. It wasn't a tunic either, since the hem was near to the ankles. Not to mention it was open at the front and it had short sleeves. Not to mention the 'flames' were just a pattern at the hem itself.

Nevertheless, the woman mused to herself if it was some sort of coat she had never seen before. Putting her quick observation aside the woman looked her fellow blond in the eyes and asked, "Would you care to have a little chat, Youma Hunter?"

The blond rather calmly blinked at her. Then he shrugged and said, "It depends entirely on what you want to ask me." he answered, then he went to gather his four knives. One of which was underneath the dead youma that was missing a chunk of her neck.

Once he got his knives he put them in away inside of his coat, before giving the silver-eyed woman a look over. "Huh… I didn't think a 'silver-eyed witch' would be… Quite as cute as you." he admitted with a sheepish chuckle. Honestly the way the people described them, he thought these Silver-Eyed Witches would be monstrous in appearance, or something. It seems they were greatly exaggerated.

The 'witch' giggled at that. "I'm Flora," she introduced herself with a curtsey. She was pleasantly surprised to hear how young he was. "I am pleased to meet you. May I have your name?"

"They call me 'Youma Hunter'... lame name in my opinion. My actual name is Naruto." the now named Naruto gave her a respectful nod, "Pleased to meet you too, Flora."

Said woman smiled at him, though she noted his odd accent. Clearly he wasn't from anywhere she'd been, but this world was a big place. "I just want to learn a bit about you, the famous Youma Hunter. Humans being able to kill a youma aren't unheard of, but being able to actually hunt them down is why the Organization creates hybrids like myself. How do you know who is and isn't a youma, I wonder?"

"Well, it's a secret. But there are other ways to find out who is and who isn't a youma." Naruto replied evasively.

"Oh?" Flora cooed, sauntering on up to him with quite the sway to her hips. She along with her fellow hybrids were trained in the arts of seduction when they had to go undercover. It wouldn't hurt if she were to use those skills to try and get information out of the Youma Hunter. While she was meant to keep an eye on him, Flora thought it wouldn't hurt if she were to try and get some information out of him to report to her handler. "Might there be a way I can convince you to reveal that secret, by chance~?"

"If I did, I'd have to kill you." Naruto replied seriously, which was a stark contrast to his friendly attitude moments before. It honestly took Flora aback for a moment. "It's a _secret_ for a reason." besides, it's not like she'll believe him if he said he could sense negative emotions… or this strange type of energy those demons had. She had it too even, but it was less… corrupt.

Naruto pointedly ignored the frightened stares and the muffled whisperings he and the woman were getting from the populace around them. It was getting a little annoying to be honest. At least he's having a pleasant conversation with a cute blonde though.

Flora sighed. "Fair enough, I suppose," she said, pouting cutely. She then whispered huskily to him, "and here I was willing to even offer you my innocence in exchange…"

Naruto chuckled, expertly concealing the boner that threatened to show upon hearing that. He cleared his throat, "Yeah…you, uh, _really_ don't need to go that far."

Flora giggled again. And gave him a beautiful smile. "Do you mind if I were to accompany you?"

"Hmm… wander around continuously by my own, or wander around continuously with a cute woman like you?" Naruto made a show of thinking about it, "I like the second option!" he chirped; it honestly got lonely and there were times he craved some manner of companionship.

"Good to know," she chirped seductively. Then Flora became more cheerful and gave him a pretty smile as she asked, "So, what were you doing here?"

"I was actually planning on resting here a while… then the youmas happened. I didn't even intend to 'hunt them'; so I'll probably be on my way out again since everyone tends to show distrust to those that manage to kill youma… irritating superstitious people…" he muttered at the end irritably. Then Naruto looked cheerful again and asked, "Why? Do you have somewhere else to be?"

"The people of my district are more trusting, thanks to me," Flora said. "I'll gladly guide you there if you want a place to stay."

"That's good to know, but you didn't exactly answer my question though." Naruto pointed out with an amused eye smile. "Do you have somewhere else to be? I wouldn't mind travelling with a cute woman like you if that's the case."

"I was offering to take you to my district, silly," she replied with a giggle. "I don't technically _need_ to be there, but I prefer it, as I'm familiar with the territory."

"Well if you're heading there, I _suppose_ I can follow you. Maybe I can show you a thing or two if I get the chance."

"If it's any trouble, I'm willing to _compensate_ you," Flora giggled again, giving him a seductive leer.

Despite the seductive leer she was giving him, Naruto could tell she was lying. She _really_ didn't want to do that. But, he could also tell that she wouldn't hesitate if he told her to, which unnerved the blond.

He hid it well, though, behind a friendly eye-smile. "No need." he told her, "As pretty as you are, I'm not that kind of guy. Just be patient… and observant, and you _might_ see how I'm able to see how I'm able to tell the difference between a youma and a human."

She was relieved to hear that, actually. Naruto was impressed by how well she hid it, though.

"Alright," Flora chirped and she was noticeably more cheery now. "I'm ready to leave when you are."

Naruto nodded and gestured for Flora to lead the way, since she was the only one of the two that knew the way. She smiled and walked ahead with Naruto following in line after her.

* * *

Flora was pleasantly surprised by how quickly they returned to her territory. She'd initially estimated that it would take a month, but it only took a week! The trip here was largely uneventful, as their idle chats lead to nowhere. Despite her best efforts, and the fact that they'd been traveling for a week, she still barely knew anything about him. Well… aside from the fact that he was quite the gentleman.

That was yet another pleasant surprise…

Yes, it was a surprise that this Naruto was a gentleman. She wasn't complaining about it though; he was polite, and despite the mask covering the bottom half of his face, Flora had to admit he was quite cute. Not to mention, the tone of his voice, told her he was somewhere after his 17th cycle.

She was wrong about that, but Naruto didn't correct her on it. Mainly because Flora kept that information all in her head. So for Naruto there was nothing to correct.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes grew wide a slight tinge, before they went to normal, and he tilt his head to the side, "There's a youma ahead of us, five yards, hiding above in a tree waiting to ambush." he informed Flora, drawing her attention and curiosity.

"Oh? And how do you know that?" she asked with peaked interest. Her yoki sensing wasn't as good as God-Eye Galatea, but all hybrids like her are capable of searching for yoki. And that was exactly what she did, using her yoki sense to locate this threat, if there was a youma that is. She skillfully hid her surprise when she found there _was_ in fact a youma nearby! How did he know…?

"Oh, I just do." Naruto replied evasively with an eye smile. The blond wasn't the smartest tool in the shed, he knew that, but he also knew when someone was fishing for information. That was what Flora's been trying to do for the past week; get information out of him and possibly report whatever she learned from him to this Organization she works for.

Naruto looked at Flora from the corner of his eye, "Do you want to take care of it, or should I?" he asked her.

"I'll take care of it, it's my job to kill youmas after all," Flora pointed out with an amused smile.

Naruto chortled at that, "Alright, I thought I would ask you first. We'll be right on top of the youma in about a minute."

Flora smiled at that. "Well aren't you considerate, Mr. Youma Hunter,"

Now that Flora decided that she's going to take care of the youma instead of him, Naruto knew this would be a good way to see just what these 'Silver-Eyed Witches' are capable of. Back on that town a week ago, he saw that last youma being turned into a pile of chunks in a second. That alone told him this woman was deceptively fast, and strong with a sword.

When they were approaching the hidden youma, Naruto slowed down and allowed Flora to walk on ahead of him in order to watch her in action. Flora reached up and grasped the grip of her claymore but didn't pull it out of its slot.

The youma, too hungry to care that she was going to try and attack a hybrid leapt out of the tree above her with a hungry battle cry. Naruto watched with abpt attention when Flora pulled an inch of her claymore out of its slot… and sheathe it again, just as the youma in question choked on her own blood before purple blood sprayed from her arms, legs, torso and neck before falling apart entirely.

The youma was dead before she hit the ground; and even more impressively, Flora didn't get a mark of purple blood on her or her claymore. She was _that_ inhumanly fast!

If Naruto was honest with himself, he was surprised there are people incapable of using chakra that are as fast as Flora. Her sword arm was nothing to scoff at. She could take on multiple opponents at once and they would be dead before they would know what happened. But Naruto did see a few weaknesses; all someone would need to do to beat her is strike from a distance. After all she could only reach as far as her sword, even if it was a big one. Another weakness is anyone who's faster than Flora can surprise her and capitalise on that surprise to put her down quickly before she could retaliate.

But he'll give credit where credit is due and Naruto clapped his hands to Flora's amusement. "That was fast. I didn't see you draw your claymore."

Flora smiled prettily at that, and tilt her head slightly when she noticed something that was...in her opinion...off putting, "You're not surprised?" she asked.

With a smile Naruto shook his head, "No, I mean-"

Flora jumped in surprise when he vanished from her line of sight, and jumped in surprise yet again when she felt someone elbow her lightly on the arm. She was very surprised to see Naruto by her side now and giving her a teasing eye smile.

"-I can move pretty fast myself."

The woman snapped her head to her right when she felt another arm lightly elbowing her and was taken aback to see him there… And when she looked back to her left, the blond was gone. So Flora looked back to her right again.

He wasn't using yoki! That was pure speed! Is...is he a hybrid like her?

"How are you-"

"-doing that?" Naruto finished for her, before letting out a chuckle, "I told you: I can move pretty fast myself. And I did say a week ago, if you're patient and observant, you might be able to see how I'm able to tell the difference between a youma and a human… And that I could show you a thing or two." he reached behind his head and rest his head on his hands. "I'd say I showed you a thing about me, wouldn't you agree?" he glanced at the beautiful woman he was walking beside when he asked that.

Depending on what her reaction was going to be…he'll either abandon her or stay with her.

"Yes, I suppose that is showing something about you," Flora agreed, before looking at him directly with eyes narrowed with interest, though she didn't stop walking, "How are you capable of moving so fast? As far as I know only hybrids such as myself and Voracious Eaters can achieve such a feat,"

That was a term Naruto had never heard of before, "Voracious Eaters?"

"They're youmas that have been around for a long time," Flora explained, which was a truth...she wasn't going to tell Naruto that they're actually hybrids that became the very monsters they fight. Then the woman got back to her original question, "So, can you answer my previous question? Or is it something you would have to kill me for if you told me?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't trust you enough to say. Maybe later, when I trust you more."

Flora was disappointed, but she understood. However, the woman wasn't going to give up that easily. "What can you say?"

Naruto hummed thoughtfully at that. "Well… I suppose I can say this: I was trained from a very young age to be a mercenary for hire. I will do anything for the right price."

Flora's eyes narrowed dangerously at that and her hand twitched as it inched to the grip of her claymore. "Anything…?"

If Naruto noticed the dangerous tone in Flora's voice he either ignored it or didn't notice it entirely. "Yep! From babysitting, to protecting, to scouting, to assassination. Of course, there are certain things I won't do; examples are burning down entire villages, towns or attacking caravans and murdering children. If my job is either of those or anything else I don't like, I abandon the job and take the money with me… might even kill the bastard who wants it done while I'm at it, depending on how bad it is."

Hearing that Flora's hand dropped back down to her side as she relaxed, and she felt her respect and admiration for her fellow blond rise a few notches. Seems he is different from those bandits she hated so much.

However, there was one thing in his list of things he would and would not do that caught her attention.

"Babysitting?"

At her incredulous tone, Naruto made a _what can you do?_ shrug and replied with, "As I said, I will do almost anything for the right money. I'd weed someone's garden and water their plants if the pay is good enough." and he _loved_ to garden. It's one of his hobbies.

Flora stifled a giggle. Now _that_ was a humorous thought.

Naruto gave her a look of mock offense. "You may laugh at the idea, but Bera is Bera, I need some way to make a living." he said overdramatically.

"Fair enough," Flora replied with an amused smile.

"So, how far is the nearest town?" Naruto asked.

Flora gave him a cute pout, "Oh? Are you getting bored of me already?"

Naruto chuckled and shook his head, "Ha ha… Far from it actually. I want to keep travelling with you. Your presence is pleasant."

"I'm sensing a 'But' coming along…" Flora deduced.

Naruto smiled under his mask, " _But_ … I'm running out of supplies." he added, drawing a silent _'Oh'_ of realization from Flora, "I have about a days worth of food and water left on me before it runs out entirely."

Flora nodded at that; now she understood why he was asking that. Though it should have been obvious to her, since the Youma Hunter, despite how fast he is able to move, is still human. He needed to eat more often than she did.

"The nearest town is around a day away from here, actually."

"Alright, let's head over there then." Hopefully that town would have a market, or a shop. He did have Bera on his person to use after all. He might as well put them to use. Maybe he can find something for Flora…? She's been nothing but kind to him for the past week so he thought a gift for her would show his appreciation.

He'll see what they have to sell first before doing that though. Who knows, maybe he can find a job or two there while he's at it. He was bored and doing a quick job or two would do him some good… and fill his pockets.

Be careful what you wish for, is how the saying goes.


	2. Chapter 2

It did take them around a day to get to the town Flora told him was nearby. It was a large town by the name of Barnet that was located in the grassy plains, with many wheat fields and orchards surrounding it. It sported a population that is close to hitting one thousand five hundred. Compared to where Naruto came from, one thousand five hundred wasn't a big population by his standards; but when there are predators that can disguise itself as your significant other, a sibling, or parent and can kill any hapless fucker in the droves before anyone knew what was happening, then one thousand five hundred is a pretty big population.

When they got within eye distance of the town, Flora looked concerned when she saw the wheat fields and orchards in a state of major disrepair. Many of the wheat looked like they were torn out of the ground, trampled on, and burned. And the town itself had a palisade around it, something Flora mentally noted was not around the last time she was here.

Naruto was getting a sense of déjà vu here though. Memories long past of his first mission came to the forefront of his mind as he and Flora approached the town of Barnet. "Hmm… It seems this place was attacked,"

"Yes… it seems so." Flora's silver eyes flashed dangerously as they darted from left to right, taking in every little detail they could. This seems like it's the work of bandits… only they'd stoop to a level so low as to cripple a town of their livelihood!

"On the bright side, there doesn't seem to be any casualties on Barnet's end." Naruto said in an attempt to be optimistic. He was stating it purely on the fact he could see no bodies. But that can easily change. Still trying to keep optimistic can do wonders for one's morale.

It seems he's going to be delayed for a bit. "Flora, I'm going to see what's happened here. Is that okay with you?"

Naruto didn't even need to ask her since Flora was going to do the exact same thing as he was.

"Yes... It's okay." she replied, and Naruto worryingly noted it was a lot stiffer and more… angry than normal. It was like she was trying to hold in her anger at what she was seeing.

With that said Naruto and Flora made the rest of the way into town with a tense atmosphere around the latter. Some recognized her as a rather friendly type, but the other villagers were still quite suspicious. For all they knew, a youma could have disguised itself as the woman. Until established otherwise, they were inclined to assume the worst.

Once they got through the entryway of the palisade, Naruto turned to address Flora. "I'll be searching for information on what happened. Let's meet back here in five minutes?"

"That sounds reasonable…" Flora replied with a nod. She had half a mind to see what the Youma Hunter was going to do in order to get this information. He did say he was a mercenary after all… and mercenary's tend to be just as bad as bandits and outlaws.

And with that the two blonds went their separate ways. At least for a short while.

* * *

"Excuse me,"

A man in his late 30s, with a hairline that was beginning to recede, turned around when he heard someone behind him and blinked in surprise upon seeing a… oddly dressed young man. Spiky blond hair, a headband with a spiked metal plate that has a strange symbol engraved to it. A black mask that covered everything up to the bridge of his nose down, and wore a dark red coat with flame-like patterns on the helm over his dark clothes.

He was rather odd… very odd…

"Yes, young man?"

Naruto smiled under his mask and threw a thumb over his shoulder, "I saw the state of the fields and orchards outside of Barnet. What happened?"

The 30-year-old something man let out a weary sigh. "Bandits and outlaws happened, that's what." he replied, running a hand through his hair, "They showed up a few weeks ago, and started causing trouble ever since."

"What kind of trouble?" the blond asked with intrigue.

"You saw what they did to our wheat fields." the man answered as if it should be obvious. "But before that they were demanding that we pay them for 'protection' or else there would be trouble."

Naruto's eyes crinkled with amusement at that, "And let me guess: you lot told them to piss off?"

"Tch, got that right," the man replied, scoffing at the mere idea of paying a bunch of low lives to protect them. "Ever since we refused to give them 'protection money' there were a few skirmishes with our militia and them, with some injuries being dealt to both sides. It was only recently that they started burning our crops. We still have barns for our animals and got a few warehouses stocked up on food to last us the whole winter."

"I see…" Naruto mused thoughtfully, "...and what are the chances these bandits are going to attack again?"

"If they know what's good for them, never. But knowing bandits, they won't just give up like that." the man replied with an irritated scowl. Then he took a calming breath and looked at Naruto, "Anything else?"

"Yeah, do you know where these bandits are camping?"

The man blinked at the strange question. "I dunno why you'd want to know that, but no. You'd best ask the captain of the militia for something like that. He's been sending scouts out to find them lately."

"And where can I find him?"

"Near the town hall, in the middle of Barnet. Just go straight down there," Naruto looked in the direction the man was pointing and gave him his thanks before going on to search for this captain.

* * *

It didn't take Naruto long at all to find the town hall. It took him approximately three minutes to get to it. And it didn't take him long to find the man in question, or at least he hoped it was the man in question.

He was in his mid-fifties, and was well-built. He wore padded leather armour and was armed with a round wooden reinforced shield and an iron longsword. Though both of them were not being used at this moment. One was being carried on his back and the other was in its sword carrier on the waist.

Seeing as he was a good a lead as any Naruto approached the man.

"Excuse me,"

The man in question turned around and quirked an eyebrow as he gave Naruto a one look-over. Then he turned to face the young man directly with a hand resting on the grip of his sword. "Yes?"

"Are you the Captain of the Militia, here?"

The man narrowed his eyes a bit, "Who wants to know?"

"I was told by a man that lives here the Captain would have information on where the Bandits are," Naruto answered with a shrug, "Said he was around here near the Town Hall. I thought I'd offer my services in getting rid of them."

The man gave him a once-over and hummed thoughtfully. "You're the so-called Youma Hunter I've heard about,"

Naruto nodded and skillfully hid his exasperation at the name. "Yeah, that's me." he replied, "My companion and myself saw the state of the wheat fields and decided to see what's going on."

"Your companion?" the Captain asked.

"You might know of her," Naruto replied with a nod. "A Claymore named Flora."

"Ah, it's been a while," the captain said. "We haven't seen her for about a year or so. You're her companion?"

"She was sent to find me by the Organization and found me a week ago. But yeah, we're companions now." Naruto answered with a nod, "She was a little… well… angry when she saw the state of the wheat fields outside. So, before we get any more distracted: do you know where the bandits and outlaws are?"

"Yes. they've erected a motte and bailey on the edge of a nearby river. It's a bitch to assail, but we've managed to take a chunk outta them."

"I see…" Naruto said.

The captain narrowed his eyes a slight tinge, "Why do you want to know?"

"I want to get rid of them," Naruto answered; he was honest and straight to the point. Then the blond gave the captain a military salute before turning around and walking away, "Thanks for the information by the way; I need to get back to Flora now, she should be waiting for me back at the entrance to this town by now."

The Captain's eyes grew wide with worry and his mouth opened to warn Naruto to stay away from there, lest he get himself and Flora killed. But the blond was out of earshot and out of sight before he could utter it.

The man blinked repeatedly in utter perplexment. How did he just disappear like that?

* * *

A few minutes later…

Naruto and Flora were now back at one of the entrances to Barnet with the latter looking at Naruto with expectancy.

"What did you find?" she asked him.

"Barnet's being harassed by a party of bandits and outlaws. They showed up a couple of weeks ago demanding that they be paid for 'protection', and were pretty much told to piss off. The bandits have been harassing them ever since. The wheat fields being destroyed was a recent thing."

"Do you know where they're located?"

Naruto nodded, "If you know where the nearest river to Barnet is, then that is where they'll be. They set up a motte and bailey there."

Flora narrowed her eyes in thought. How could a bunch of bandits, who can't organise themselves to save their lives, be able to make such a fortification? Unless… they're being led by someone who has experience… or these aren't your common riffraff bandits. Flora wasn't all that knowledgeable on fortifications and such, since bandit camps - from what she had seen - are usually made up of tents. Sometimes, they were surrounded by an earthen mound and spikes sticking from the ground to keep horsemen from charging right on in, other times, they'd be erected in the center of a dense thicket or natural rock formation for the same purposes.

Either way, these bandits would have to have former soldiers and officers in it, then… maybe a dedicated architect or two. They're the only ones that have the knowledge and experience to build a fortification like that. That or they were full of former soldiers and officers. One way or the other, it was clear how they were able to fend off the town's militia. Strongholds were, after all, inherently easier to defend than attack.

"You did a good job, Naruto," credit where credit was due, Naruto did get results. Flora came up towards him and gave him a bright smile. "I thank you for your help. So, what's the plan?"

"Wipe them out, of course," the way Naruto casually said that would have alarmed anyone. But for Flora, who made it her personal mission to kill any bandits she came across, well… he was speaking her language. Did Christmas come early, this year?

She grinned widely, wondering if she should 'reward' him if he does particularly well.

Naruto…ignored that wide downright disturbing grin that was on Flora's face. She looked insane to him for a moment. He cleared his throat and said, "So, seeing as you know the area, can you lead the way?"

"Of course! Follow me!"

And with that Flora turned on the heel of her sabatons and walked out of Barnet with a spring in her step. An amused, if slightly disturbed Naruto shook his head and followed after her. If this campsite of theirs really is next to a river, then there's going to be one technique he's going to use to get rid of them as fast as possible.

* * *

It turns out the nearby river was one hour away to the Northwest from Barnet. It didn't take them long to get there.

It turns out the motte and bailey was pretty small. And the motte was actually a watchtower; it was made of wood, meaning they didn't have the wealth or resources to upgrade to stone, just yet. The bailey appeared to just be a wooden palisade surrounding several tents. It also had a drawbridge, impressively enough. They also dug a small channel around the whole structure, redirecting some of the river to form a makeshift moat.

All in all, it was a cheap, but effective headquarters.

Naruto and Flora both came to a stop a ways away from it. And the former peered up at the watchtower with squint eyes. "Hmm...seems someone's keeping an eye out." then he took a breath, exhaled, and strolled on over to the wooden fortification while making sure to stay close to a body of water, "I'll take care of this, Flora,"

His confident declaration surprised Flora immensely, "Wha- by yourself?!"

Naruto gave the woman a grin from over the shoulder, "You wanted to know more about me, right? This is a pretty good way for you to see what I'm capable of." and for him to show her just how dangerous he can be if he's completely serious.

Flora frowned but nodded. "I will jump in if I feel that you're in trouble, but okay."

"Don't worry your pretty little head, Flora, this'll be over in a minute…" he promised, drawing a blush from the woman at his compliment. Then Naruto went on ahead while Flora slowly followed after him from a distance.

It wasn't until Naruto got too close to the watchtower that he was stopped by an arrow near his foot.

"That's close enough!" the lookout yelled, "Get lost before I put an arrow in you and your little Claymore pet!"

Flora merely growled at the audacity of that fucker. She was no one's pet!

Naruto's response? He merely narrowed his eyes and made seven rapid hand seals. To Flora's astonishment and utter surprise, the river beside Naruto came to life and utterly enveloped the motte and bailey in a dome of water in less than a second! It formed too fast for anyone inside to react!

Then Naruto dashed forward and leapt on in… and Flora was thrown into an even bigger surprise when he began to swim fast enough through the water that he was going from one edge of the dome to the other and another and another in a matter of seconds. It took several seconds for him to do whatever he was doing, before leaping back out from the top. Flora could see Naruto had his hand clenched with two digits straightened.

Then Flora's silver eyes looked back at the dome of water when she heard a noise from inside it. Several explosions of light rocked the water prison, before the shockwaves from the thousands of explosions made the dome unstable and expand, upwards and outwards before it became a massive dome of fire that could be seen for miles. The ground _shook_ by the shockwaves from the several thousand explosions within! What kept the fire from spreading out in all directions was the water that was acting like a container. The dome must have been thicker than initially thought.

Naruto was on the ground by this point and was standing with his back to it. His arms were crossed confidently while he glanced back at it from slightly over the shoulder. The wind bellowed against his back, the hem of his coat fluttering against the back of his legs.

It took everything Flora had to not lose her footing… the shaking was like a damn _earthquake!_ But it was over in an instant… and nothing remained of the motte and bailey by the time the fire dispersed into nothingness. There was a scorched ground but nothing else remained. Not even the charred remains of the bandits and outlaws were there!

She didn't even sense yoki being used! Just… _what_ was this kid?!

"Holy sh- what _was_ that?!" It took Flora every ounce of willpower not to throw her arms up and wave them around like a headless chicken. And the temptation to do that was immeasurably strong.

"One of the many techniques I won't hesitate to use if someone is stupid enough to draw my ire," Naruto answered her as if he didn't use a technique that wiped out an entire camp of bandits in a near blink of an eye. "Besides, I did say it would be over in about a minute. And you did learn something else about me."

"I… I see…" Well, in light of what she just witnessed, and what she witnessed was something apocalyptic and unbelievable unless you were to see it with your own eyes, she hoped the Organization won't be stupid enough to anger him.

"Good… Good to know," Flora gave him a nervous smile and said, "I certainly hope I don't draw your ire…"

"Well, if you start to, I'll simply give you a fairly worded warning."

"And… what worded warning would that be?"

"It's simple and to the point;" then Naruto gave her a rather… menacing grin, that somehow came off as friendly at the same time, "'Do you wanna have a bad time?'"

Flora took a deep, calming breath, ignoring the shiver that ran up her spine upon hearing that. "I'll keep that in mind," she chirped. She did a damn good job keeping her nervousness out of her voice.

"Well now that we got that out of the way, there's nothing to stop me from getting supplies from Barnet, is there?" And then Naruto was smiling cheerfully again. His smile was more natural and friendly rather than threatening.

"Nothing at all," Flora replied, her smile now far less forced in the wake of his change in attitude.

With that the two went back in the direction they came from, walking side by side together. As they walked Naruto stole some glances at her from the corner of his eye, and saw how nervous she was walking beside him.

After a few minutes of awkward and tense silence though, Naruto inhaled and exhaled before apologising to her. "I'm sorry, Flora,"

Quirking an eyebrow, the woman stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye as well. "...For what?"

"For scaring you back there." he elaborated, "Sorry about that."

Flora smiled brightly. "It's fine. Truth be told, if it weren't for that fortification protecting the bandits, I… might have scared you."

"You would've gone on a rampage and brutally murdered them?" he guessed. And Naruto didn't mean it as a joke.

Her sheepish chuckle was all he needed to hear. "It's a secret I've kept for a few decades, but yes," she whispered. "If you tell anyone, though, I will be in serious trouble. Killing humans, no matter the reason, is strictly forbidden under penalty of death."

"Your secret's safe with me," Naruto promised. "You can bet your pretty little ass on it~" he teased her goodnaturedly with an eye smile.

Flora giggled at that. "Aren't you quite the tease~"

Naruto shrugged with a hapless smile, "Well, you _are_ very pretty. And you have a toned physique and that two-piece jumpsuit you're wearing leaves nothing to the imagination. It goes to stand you would have a nice ass to go along with it."

"Keep that up and I might jump you~!" Flora cooed, her cheeks ablaze. She was _not_ used to this level of flattery.

Naruto laughed at that, "Ha ha! I wouldn't mind having a gorgeous girl like you throwing herself at me," then he sighed and hunched over a bit. "Joking aside though, you do have the looks to turn the eyes of any guy. You certainly have my eye." he admitted.

To be completely honest it was fairly difficult to keep his eyes from wandering when they're face to face. Flora is gorgeous, she's fit, and that bodysuit of hers is hugging her body in all the right ways and showing off all her curves. It was hard keeping his eyes above her neck.

Flora blushed even more heavily at that, feeling her cheeks burn. She was legitimately flattered, very much so, to hear that. "I-I'm glad you think so." she stammered.

"I don't think so, I _know_ so," he corrected with a raised index finger. "You're cute, you've got a kind personality, you're polite and you didn't run away the instant you saw me unleash that devastation back there or become aggressive when I showed you my natural speed… that shows a lot about your character." his arms were crossed by this point and his eyes were closed, "You're a good woman and you'd make the person that manages to become your boyfriend or significant other very, very lucky."

"Ar-are you available?" Flora's hands flew to her mouth to cover it with an audible slap and she looked away out of embarrassment. She couldn't believe how forward that came out as!

"Huh… actually, yeah, I am." Naruto admitted with a sheepish chuckle. "I was never that lucky with the fairer gender to be honest." And without Flora seeing he pulled down his mask to show off his entire face. What can he say? The woman earned the right to see what he looked like. "Why? Are you offering to be my girlfriend?"

Naruto swore he could see steam rising from the back of the blonde's head as she sputtered helplessly for a moment, trying to muster up a response.

After a moment and several deep, calming breaths, she timidly nodded. "I-if that's okay with you."

Naruto didn't say anything in response to that. Because action spoke louder than words. Flora came to a stop midstep when she felt a pair of lips on her cheek, and she snapped her gaze towards Naruto and found he had his mask lowered down and had his face revealed completely. He was… exotic; the structure of his face was smooth, and round and he had birthmarks in the shape of whiskers on both his cheeks.

"Congratulations, you're the first person other than my parents that's seen my face." he told her. Then Naruto smiled a little wider and added, "And yes, that's okay with me. I'll be your boyfriend~" Going from strangers to being boyfriend and girlfriend in one week and a day; that was a little fast for Naruto's liking since they barely know anything about each other. But that didn't mean they can't learn some things about each other. Not only that he didn't sense any lies or ulterior motive from her. She genuinely wanted him to be her boyfriend.

Flora stood there stock still for a moment… and then the poor woman fainted from shock. She was so used to being rejected that having someone, a cute boy at that, actually say 'yes' came as one _hell_ of a surprise.

Naruto blinked owlishly at that. And he looked around for a moment as if wondering what to do. Then he looked down at Flora and said, "Well… that went better than I thought."

* * *

When Flora awoke again some time later, it was to the feeling of lying on top of a comfortable bed. Her sword and armour were missing, but she was still clothed. When she looked around, the Number 8 found she was in one of Barnet's taverns and Naruto, her _boyfriend_ was sitting on a chair next to her seemingly asleep.

Off to the side were her claymore and armour. Apparently he took them off before plopping her in the bed, so they wouldn't be hell on her back. How sweet of him… Flora smiled brightly at that. She had an actual _boyfriend_ now! Flora felt absolutely giddy about that!

"I see you're awake," Flora jumped when she heard her boyfriend speak. Then he opened his eye and looked at her with a sideways smile. "And I was right: you do have a nice ass~"

Flora blushed brightly at that, "I hope you didn't take advantage of me," she teased him.

"Of course not," scoffed Naruto, "We may be a couple now, but I wouldn't stop so low as to take advantage of you when you're at your most vulnerable." then he gave her a teasing grin, "I certainly wouldn't mind if _you_ were to take advantage of me when I'm at my most vulnerable though~" he teased her in a good natured manner.

Flora's blush returned with a vengeance at the thought as she giggled like a schoolgirl. Naruto just grinned at that, then he looked towards the window and peered outside. "I got myself a week's worth of supplies when you were busy sleeping. I'm good to set out as soon as you are."

"I'll make sure everything is fine in the town and we'll leave soon after, then," Flora replied with a kindly smile.

"Alright…" Naruto turned and smiled back at her. Then he looked down at his hand that was clenched into a fist. Naruto looked to his girlfriend and held it out to her, who looked at it and then up at him in utter perplexment. "Bump your first with it." was what he told her.

Still perplexed, and that odd request made her perplexed even more so, Flora did as she was asked and bumped her fist with his. The second their fists connected, Flora felt a connection with the blond…and she understood him.

And it was the same for Naruto. The second their souls were connected, Flora's past was like an open book for him. She understood him and he understood her. From her losing her parents, brother and sister, to bandits and the sheer hatred she had for them, to the youma eating the guts her auntie and uncle. He saw the brutal process of her transformation into a hybrid. He felt her agony through that transformation.

It was only a second, but for Flora it was an eternity. When he pulled his fist away from hers Flora was looking at Naruto in a new light. She knew _everything_ about him now...she had no idea _how_ but she did.

That included her learning of his ability to discern who is a youma and who isn't; she never imagined that someone would be able to weaponize _emotions_ to whittle out the predators from the flock of prey. That gave her _an_ explanation on how he was able to do it. She also learned that he was in fact not from this world. He had been trying to find a way back home ever since he found himself here. An effort that was ultimately a failure. Her boyfriend wasn't as much as a foreigner than being from a completely different _world_ altogether. A world that was technologically advanced, didn't have youma or Awakened Beings, but was until recently plagued by wars.

How he ended up here was a mystery, even to him. He was even consulting talking _toads_ of all things on finding a way to get back to his home! That ultimately yielded no results since he was still here, and Naruto's already resigned himself to staying here long before the time they met a week and a day ago.

Oh yeah, and he's been here for nearly three months.

Flora couldn't help but ask though, "What… what _was_ that?"

"That was a technique that allows people's spirits and energies to connect. It lets two or more people understand one another without communication." he explained in the simplest manner he can think of.

Her eyes lit up with understanding. "So I really _did_ see…"

"Yes," Naruto confirmed her almost unasked question with a nod.

"And you saw…" Flora looked rather afraid of his answer.

"Yes," Naruto nodded once more in confirmation and reassured her when he saw the look on her face. "Hey, I don't think any less of you if that's what you're worried about. I won't abandon you just because of what you _may_ become."

"And… what if my youma side begins to take over and I lose whatever is left of my humanity?"

Naruto closed his eyes and let out a chuckle at that, "That won't happen. Not for a while at least. And besides…" Naruto opened his eyes and looked at the worried Flora. "...if that did happen, I'd stop you."

Flora blinked away tears before they had a chance to form. That… was the most heartwarming death threat she ever received.

"Thank you, Naruto,"

He had no idea why she was thanking him for promising to kill her if her super powered demon side managed to overwhelm her human half, but he accepted her thanks nonetheless.

"You're welcome, Flora," he replied with a warm smile that made her absolutely swoon. Naruto chuckled at that before covering the lower-half of his face with his mask again. Flora was disappointed when he did that.

She let out a sigh, "I suppose I should get ready to move, then," Flora made her way to sit up only to stop and look at Naruto with a quirked eyebrow when she heard the young man beside her chuckle.

"Unless you have to meet your handler and get your new assignment, there really is no reason we can't stay here for a day and just rest." he pointed out to her with an eye smile. And he knew his girlfriend didn't have to meet her handler for an update on her current assignment for a few more days.

Flora's expression positively lit up at that. He was right! She didn't have any other assignments apart from this one! So she was free to rest here for a bit. Not to mention she can use this time to check if there's any more trouble before they head out again. With that thought, Flora smiled once more before she got herself comfortable on her bed and closed her eyes. Hybrids like her only need to sleep and eat once a week. Two if they really push it. So she's going to milk this for as long as she possibly can.

As for Naruto, he merely watched his girlfriend for a moment before chuckling quietly to himself. He was going to rest himself for a bit. After that they can hit the road again. Though, for some reason, Naruto felt like he was forgetting something… meh, he'll probably remember it sometime later.

For now, he'll just rest.


	3. Chapter 3

One day later, at an undetermined location, a group of four women were being given a wide berth by many people as they sat together around a table in an inn of some no-name town. All of them were attractive in their own right, while also being rather exotic of the forbidden fruit kind.

They shared the same coloured pale-blonde hair and silver eyes and wore the same type of uniform and armour as Flora did, albeit with a few differences to their faulds. They even had the same claymores' albeit with a different symbol engraved on the metal.

The first woman had chest length, loose-and-wavy pale-blonde hair that was tucked behind one ear. Out of the four she was one of two that showed the most expression as she was smiling a slight tinge as she listened to the woman next to her talk.

The woman talking in question had short hair that is tucked behind her ears, and stuck out behind her like spikes from behind. She had a slightly stern, if not reserved, expression on her face as she talked to her compatrotes.

The third woman had short, straight pale-blonde hair that is in a asymmetrical bob cut. She had her hair parting down the middle but had the left half covering her left eye, while the right side was swept back slightly towards her ear. While she talked to her compatriotes, the woman looked faintly interested in their issue.

And the fourth woman had her hair worn in a long braided plait that sat over her right shoulder, and had her fringe swept to the right. She looked almost entirely emotionless, her face completely stoic; however, from the way she was listening intently to the woman talk too was thinly interested in their current subject.

These women, in that order, are Number 18 Lily; Number 20 Queenie; Number 24 Zelda, and finally, Number 31 Tabitha.

The topic of the discussion in question? The Youma Hunter.

"I say he's something that was made up by people that want nothing to do with us," Queenie said with a scoff and a roll of her eyes. "No human is able to tell who is a youma and who isn't. Let alone fight so many at once and kill them."

"I don't know about that," Lily said as she tapped her fingers rhythmically against the table. "A person with his description has been showing up in many towns and villages in Mucha for the past two months."

"Right," Zelda said with a slight nod of her head. Then she crossed her arms and leaned back against the back of her chair while crossing a leg. "There has been talk that he is a champion sent by the twin Goddesses themselves to fight the youma and voracious eaters. Which I find to be ridiculous." she let out an unladylike snort at the thought of that, "The youma and voracious eaters have been around for as long as I can remember, why would a so called champion be sent to help us now?"

Tabitha was the one who spoke next, "He is no champion of the Twin Goddesses, nor is he the champion of Rabona's goddess, however, the likelihood of him being real is there."

That got Zelda, Queenie, and Lily's attention.

"What makes you so sure?" Queenie was skeptical and her face and tone showed it.

"Because the Organization's been looking for him." Tabitha revealed, to their surprise; though they did well in hiding it. "I don't know the specifics, but I did learn from Pamela that the Elder has sent one of the handlers to look for him. He's apparently found enough evidence in the South for the Elder to send one of us to find him."

"Who?"

Tabitha shrugged, "Last I heard, the Youma Hunter was last seen near Windcutter Flora's district in Mucha. If the Organization is going to send someone to track him down, it will most likely be her."

"How long ago was this?" Lily asked. Her interest in this topic had just skyrocketed. She may have to rethink on her own opinion on the Youma Hunter. If the Organization sent one of their own to find him then he might be more important than anyone else thought!

"I learned this a week and two days ago." Tabitha answered. "I haven't heard of anything else since then."

* * *

Meanwhile, back with Naruto and Flora, they were already back on the road to Flora's next destination. Barnet has nothing else worrying them, and with no youma secretly hiding amongst the populace, Flora had no other reason to stay. Naruto had no idea where Flora was going next so he was letting her lead the way, which she was all too happy to do. After last nights shock, and the wordless 'bonding' they had after joining fists, the woman had spent the entire night trying to sort through the memories she experienced on Naruto's side.

The same thing happened with Naruto, though he was more tuned to doing it after he shared his memories - and chakra - with several thousand people all at once.

Suffice to say Flora can say with absolute confidence that Naruto, her boyfriend, can take on anything this world can throw at him and _win_. Even if Naruto was no longer as powerful as he used to be - and she meant that literally - the Abyssal Ones won't be able to do much against him if he wanted to go all out.

As for Naruto, he decided to forgo wearing his sage coat, forehead protector, and mask. Leaving him only wearing his dark clothes. Since Flora was meant to update her handler on the search for...well... _himself_ , he thought it would be good for Flora if she was to say she was still 'searching' for him. Him taking off his coat and mask isn't that much of a disguise, but no one other than Flora actually knows what he looks like without the mask on.

Not to mention the suspension of disbelief can make _anyone_ gullible enough to believe what they want to see. Plus he can just disguise himself with henge and wear something else when she meets up with the handler. Flora, of course, enjoyed having Naruto's face exposed for all to see; what can she say? She liked his exotic appearance.

That didn't stop her from asking questions though.

"So you're doing that just so I can lie to my handler?"

Naruto had his hands behind his head and was looking towards the sky with a smile. "Not lie per say... Just say you're still looking for me. After all, it took us an entire week instead of a month to get to your district. You can say I've hitched a ride with a caravan and was dropped off before it reached the next town, so you've been set back for a bit."

"Hmm… that's entirely plausible." Flora nodded to that; caravans do move faster than someone who is on foot. That being said she can easily cook up an excuse and say the caravan didn't see him leave the group. Or she can come up with something else.

On the other hand…

"What about you?" when she got a questioning look from him Flora elaborated, "If my handler asks who you are, what should I say?"

At that, Naruto pondered on his answer, before giving her a hapless shrug, "You can say that I'm someone you saved from a youma that was about to eat my guts?" he offered.

Flora nodded at that and added on to it, saying with a thoughtful tone, "And you're sticking close to me until you get to the next town." 'claymores' like herself being used as an escort wasn't a common occurrence, but it did happen from time to time. It's even rarer for someone like her to even have a travelling companion, but again it did happen from time to time.

Hybrids that have companions always end up alone in the end. Usually by a couple of circumstances: their companion ends up leaving them. The companion dies. The hybrid in question dies. Or they get split up and one of them either dies later or they never find each other again.

Naruto nodded and the more he thought about it the more he really liked the sound of that. "Yeah. That's a viable plan."

After that, the odd couple that was a human and half-human/half-youma hybrid, walked in comfortable silence.

* * *

 **One day later…**

As they walked through one of the many plains of Mucha, Naruto and Flora were now having a pleasant conversation with one another. However, while they talked and walked, the former was having this...really odd feeling at the back of his head. He glanced at his girlfriend at the corner of his eye and found she hadn't noticed it.

He frowned. And made a show of taking in his surroundings when he was actually making damn sure they weren't being followed. Because right now, this _odd_ feeling, was giving him a distinct feeling that the two of them were being watched. He couldn't sense any youma or Voracious Eaters around… but that nagging feeling of being watched was there.

He kept it to himself though since he didn't feel any negative intent. Not yet, anyway. Naruto decided to keep his senses sharpened, just incase whatever is watching him decides to attack with no warning.

It was a wise course of action in Naruto's honest opinion. Despite that Naruto kept the majority of his attention on Flora as they tried passing the time by talking.

"So your mentor really was a… Pervert?" Flora asked with an intrigued arch of an eyebrow.

Naruto nodded with an enthusiastic grin, "Yeah! I've had a couple of them! Despite that though they were pretty cool teachers!" Naruto's grin got wide with nostalgia as he went back down memory lane. Back to the good old days when things were so much simpler. "The man I respect the most used to call himself a Super Pervert with pride. I first met him when he was peeking in some women who were bathing naked."

Flora's nose curled with distaste at that, "I see." then she gave him a confused frown, "'Used to'? Did something happen to him?"

And just like Naruto went from being incredibly enthusiastic to becoming very depressed.

"He's… he's um..." the blond took a quick moment to gather his nerves. Flora though saw how much distraught this brought him and was about to say something, however, Naruto started talking again before she could get the chance too. "He's dead. Pervy-Sage went to investigate on the whereabouts on a leader of this Organization back home called Akatsuki. He didn't come back."

Flora couldn't help but wince at that. The sheer emotional distraught she could hear in his voice made her heart wrench. Now that she thought about it, one of the talking toads who told her boyfriend of his mentor's demise had been fighting side by side with him. What was his name…? Fusuku? Fafusuku? Fukusaku? It was hard to pronounce for her.

"I'm sorry to remind you of that," she apologised, only for Naruto wave her apology off as he bounced back to being cheerful in a matter of seconds.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. You were curious." he told her with a deceptively cheerful smile. He missed Jiraiya, yeah, but he will fondly look back on the memories he shared with the man. Those were treasured memories. He would never trade them for anything.

Then he gave the woman beside him a curious look, "So there are currently 47 of you on the field?"

"Yes." confirmed Flora, "There are 47 of us in total, with Number 1 being the strongest and Number 47 being the weakest. Each and every one of us has their own district with the stronger warriors being in districts that are densely populated with youma and the weakest being in the least populated."

"Hmm… Have you ran into the others yet?"

Flora's curly locks bobbed as she nodded. "Only a few. We normally team up if we are to execute a traitor, hunt for an Awakened Being, or clear out a town or village that's inhabited by many youma." she answered.

Naruto made a grunt of acknowledgement as he nodded to show he understood her explanation. He also knew they regularly get replaced if they die on the field, send a black card to one of their compatriots, Awaken, desert after breaking one of the rules, or have an execution squad kill a traitor for breaking said rules. What he didn't like was the lower numbered double digits were far more likely to die on the field because they weren't strong enough.

Not only that, he learned from Flora's memories that many a warrior had ventured far into Lautrec and mysteriously vanished. Only for their corpses to be found much, much later.

"I see. And outside of that you're alone wandering from place to place, until you get a new assignment, only to do it again and again and again."

"Yes," Flora brushed her hair out of her face with a sigh, "That is the way we live. And that is what we shall do until the day we die."

Naruto frowned at that; that...was honestly depressing now that he thought about it.

* * *

Three more days passed and it's been almost two weeks since Flora found Naruto. Still not wearing his forehead protector, mask and Sage Coat, and with Naruto changing his clothes so it would fit in more with 'this world' the couple met with Flora's handler. A man wearing completely dark clothes who Flora calls Roberto, the man was in his mid fifties, with wrinkles beginning to form, bags under his eyes, greying hair and had a permanent frown on his face.

He looked rather lanky in Naruto's honest opinion. The blond in question wasn't surprised, since these handlers were the type of people that liked to sit on their asses and let their warriors do all the work for them.

The Handler locked eyes with him for just a brief second, but it was enough for Naruto to see the irritation in his eyes. And on his face before he wiped it off. Naruto was tempted to just give the man a _'you don't scare me'_ type of look, but thought against it.

Flora turned to look at him before saying, "Wait here for a minute,"

Naruto smiled and nodded obediently. Flora returned his smile with one of her own before wiping it off her face, looking at her Handler and approached him with a sense of professionalism.

"Report." Roberto commanded once she was in front of him.

Flora nodded and replied with stoicness in her voice, "The Youma Hunter is proving to be more elusive than initially thought. He was last seen in the town of Barnet almost one week ago. I am fairly close to catching up to him however."

The constantly frowning Roberto nodded with satisfaction at her response, completely believing the lie to be true. Then he glanced at Naruto and frowned even more if that were possible, "And him? Who is he?"

"That is Nathan," Flora answered, "He's someone I rescued from some youma that were trying to kill him. I am escorting him to the next town which is the direction the Youma Hunter is heading to."

"Make sure to leave him, the second you reach town." Roberto commanded, taking another glance at 'Nathan', "I can't have you getting distracted in your search for the Youma Hunter by someone who will only slow you down and cause delays."

Flora resisted the urge to scowl at the blatant disregard her handler had for _her_ boyfriend. She kept her expression blank and completely stoic and nodded in the affirmative, drawing a grunt of satisfaction from the bastard.

"What are my orders after I successfully find him?" the Number 8 respectfully asked, "I was told by the Elder I am to keep him distracted, or in one place. If he was to leave Mucha am I to keep pursuing him?"

"Do whatever it takes to keep him in one place; but if he was to leave Mucha then follow him. Keep him within sight and report any findings to the next handler you encounter."

"Is there anything else?"

Roberto grunted with a nod, "Yes. The village ahead had sent a request for aid in hunting down and killing a youma that is terrorising its citizens. You know what you have to do."

Well that can be helpful. The village was fairly small and she did say Naruto was heading there. That would be a very good excuse for her to go over there and rest for a bit after the job is done. Well, that, or they can just continue on their way after the youma's dead.

Flora nodded stoically before looking back at 'Nathan' from over the shoulder. "Let's go." she called to him and 'Nathan' nodded with enthusiasm and quickly followed after her when she started walking without him. Ever frowning Roberto gave 'Nathan' the stink eye when he walked past him. The blond in question just ignored him for the most part, even though he was so very tempted in decking his face in.

It wasn't until they were out of ear shot that Naruto said, "I don't know why, but something made me want to break that guy's nose." then he gave Flora a questioning look and asked, "Also… 'Nathan'?"

Flora smiled sheepishly and shrugged, "It's the only name I could think of on the spot. I also have a reason to leave my district now if you were to leave Mucha."

"I know. I heard." Naruto told her with a flick of his ear and a teasing grin. Then the blond took a look over his shoulder and found that Roberto was walking away from them now. "So, the town ahead needs help in killing a youma?"

Flora nodded, "Yes. Once I get there, I will need to talk to the mayor before beginning my search."

"I see - so how long will it take for us to get there?"

"A five hours at most." Flora answered. "Two hours at the very least if we run from here."

Naruto nodded as he took that in. He decided to walk there until he gets the necessary information about the village. "What's the village called?"

"Yate, it's a small village and has over 500 people inhabiting it… though with the youma, that number might just be under 500 now." the woman answered, and she gave her boyfriend some more information on how many people that are living in it. And he appreciated that a lot.

Naruto nodded at the small amount of information and gave her a thankful smile. And he then gave her a peck on the cheek to show his appreciation.

Flora just giggled like a schoolgirl at the show of affection.

* * *

Two hours later, Flora and Naruto finally reached the village of Yate. And as expected by a settlement being terrorised by a youma everyone was on edge when they saw the two of them enter their little society. And as they walked down the dirty road, their presence had inevitably brought out a small crowd of people.

Being used to the wary whispering, disgruntled grumbling, and the slightly frightened stares being sent her way, even if she was one of the more friendlier 'claymores', Flora ignored them all and made her way to the centre of the village in order to look for the leader. Naruto followed after her and casually surveyed his surrounding.

"The youma is in the vicinity," Naruto told Flora in a low murmur so only she could hear him.

"I know," Flora answered him in the same way. "It's among the crowd, watching us, don't let it know we're onto it."

Naruto gave his girlfriend a subtle nod, "Got it."

Then the two of them continued to walk past the crowd as they searched for the village head. The man was an elderly chap with very little hair left on his head, aside from the bushy eyebrows, and quite a bit on his upper lip. In his hand he was carrying a bag full of Bera.

"A-ah, you're here," he rubbed the hand clutching the bag of Bera nervously as his eyes darted between Flora and Naruto. "This is everything we have for your services," he said, holding out the bag for Flora to take.

He was surprised when Flora shook her head, "I am not the one who will take the Bera. A man in black will appear shortly after the job is done. Give it to him." she told him.

"Ah...yes, of course," he let out a shaking breath and brought the bag to his chest. "How long will it take?"

"As long as it needs to be." Flora answered curtly. Then she got straight to the point, "How many people have been killed by the youma so far?"

"Six people in the past four days." the man answered, and he started to look around all jittery like as if he was going to be the next victim. "The first three times it happened in the dead of night. The other two times, it happened during the middle of the day. The most recent one was during broad daylight."

Naruto and Flora both took that into account. "What do you think?" Naruto asked her. "Could there be more than one?"

Flora shook her head, "No. I can only sense the one. This youma could be a voracious eater."

"The type of youma that's been around for a long time?" Naruto asked for clarification.

Flora nodded. "Yes. This youma is more intelligent than your common one. If it's killing people during different times of the day, then not only is it capable of planning, it's getting more and more confident."

"That's bad."

"Very." Flora agreed wholeheartedly with him. "I better get started right away before any more people get killed."

Naruto chuckled and pointed his thumb behind him from over the shoulder, "You'd best get to it then, pretty lady," he told her with a grin. "I'll wait for you at the inn."

For the life of her, Flora couldn't keep the blush off her face as she responded with a smile and a nod. "Stay safe," she replied. "I'll have this done as quickly as I can."

"Okay," Naruto gave her a smile and a nod in return. "Don't get your cute ass hurt~!"

That comment got the village head to look at Naruto in genuine surprise. Like the idea of flirting with a Claymore was unthinkable to him. He was thrown into an even deeper surprise when Flora actually giggled like a playful schoolgirl!

"I'll be careful," she assured, a bright smile upon her face. "Now, get going."

"I will," Naruto told her. Then Flora went off on her search for the youma, making a beeline in the direction she sensed it in.

Naruto was about to head on off to look for that inn when he heard the village head say in a tone of disbelief, "...Why?"

Naruto blinked and looked at him. "Why what?"

"Why are you flirting with… with something like her?"

Naruto gave the man a stern look, and crossed his arms, "Let's get one thing straight here, old man: she's _human_. Not a thing." he looked at Flora's back with a fond smile, "Nine times out of ten, claymores are treated as if they're monsters in human form and acting as if they're complete monsters will inevitably make them into a self-made prophecy. If they're treated like they're human beings, like they're like any other person, then it would give them some sense of normalcy." Naruto then looked at the village head and gave him another stern look, "You would be surprised how little people would give a fuck about you if you were to treat them like monsters or… _things_ that need to be put down. Try treating them like they're living, breathing, human beings and not monsters. You would be surprised at the kind of response you would probably get in return."

Off in the distance, Flora smiled again, having heard the whole damn thing. Oh, that young man was getting one _hell_ of a reward for that~! Then she remembered that Naruto was treated that way for most of his childhood and that smile was threatened to turn upside down for the briefest of moments. Only for that smile to resolidify itself when she thought of that _reward_ she planned on giving him when she gets the chance.

Then, not five minutes later, she stopped dead in her tracks. She could sense it. The youma was heading in Naruto's direction. Was it planning to attack him?! Her composure cracked as she turned on her heel with righteous fury in her eyes. There was no way in _hell_ she was going to let that fucker hurt her _boyfriend!_

The startled villagers gave her a wide berth as they saw the look, not wanting at all to get in the way of a pissed off claymore of all things. It was the first time they saw a claymore genuinely pissed the fuck off! And what made it even more scary was that it's from _Flora_ , a claymore who's actually known to be polite and welcoming in these parts!

The head of the village watch was not about to have a nice day as he got the bright idea to try and slink towards Flora's apparent companion. He was hoping to get the drop on her after stalking the young man, luring her into a narrow alley and making her big-ass weapon less viable. Unfortunately, she caught onto him far too quickly and as he looked over his shoulder to see Flora behind him, her eyes flashed gold and she walked right on by.

The man stood there stock still for a moment and then he fell apart, quite literally, his gory chunks hitting the ground with a sickening plop as they floated in a pool of purple blood.

Not too far away, Naruto turned to face her when he felt the spike of hoki and wave of malice. While it had caught him by surprise, that was nothing compared to what he felt when Flora grabbed him by the tunic and planted a possessive kiss on his lips. To say Naruto was surprised would be an understatement. He can count on one hand how many times he was kissed on the lips… and that was twice. Sasuke - ewwwwwwwww! - and that redheaded woman, Fuka who tried killing him by taking his life force via liplock. This was the third time he had someone kiss him full on the lips, and Naruto found he was enjoying it. Naruto returned the liplock with gusto as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in.

As he withdrew, Naruto gave her a warm chuckle. "I knew that guy was looking at me funny," he said. "Thanks for the save."

"No one threatens the ones I care about," Flora replied with a sexy, possessive growl.

Naruto positively beamed at that. "I'll take that into consideration, my lovely flower~" he grinned flirtatiously, rubbing at her back. Then Naruto let out a sigh, "I suppose we should tell the village head the jobs been done. That was pretty fast."

Flora sighed as well and nodded. "Yes. We should. Then we can move on."

Chuckling, Naruto slipped an arm out from behind her waist and turned around to head back to the village head. He pulled Flora along with him, using the other hand he didn't take away from her back. As they walked by, several of the villagers seemed far less surprised than she thought they'd be.

She had quite the reputation for being rather nice and very approachable. If any 'silver-eyed witch' was going to find herself a boyfriend, then it was going to be her, as far as they were concerned. Only Cynthia, the current Number 14, topped her in those regards, but they probably didn't know that, as she was stationed on the other side of the Great Sea of Fire, a massive desert on the eastern edge of the South.

"Surprised at their lack of surprise?" Naruto asked.

"A little bit, admittedly," Flora replied with a sheepish chuckle. "We don't tend to be very popular, so I was expecting a bit more of a reaction."

"Well from what I saw of you, you're kind, polite and very easy to talk to." he pointed out to her, "If anything this is the sort of reaction you should be expecting." then he leaned up and gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek before whispering into her ear, "It also helps that you are cute as all hell. If you didn't have this plate skirt on, I'd be grabbing and kneading your nice ass right about now~"

Oh, by the Twins, Flora could _feel_ the heat coming off of her cheeks!

"In fact," Naruto whispered, rubbing at Flora's back in a circular motion, "after we tell the village head the youma's dead, let's leave and find a nice place to rest for a bit. Or maybe we can go to that inn, and I can grope and fondle your ass and tits for as long as you want me to~"

"Y-you're going to make me faint from embarrassment," she giggled. Granted, she intended to do far more than that, once they were in private, but hearing him say such things out in the open - even if it was in a whisper - legitimately made her feel lightheaded.

"Well, it seems I'm doing something right~" He chuckled before giving her another affectionate kiss.

"More than you know~!" Flora cooed as she reluctantly withdrew from the liplock.

After that, the couple found the village head in the same place as before. Naruto stayed back and kept an eye out for any would be attackers - as a ninja it's his _job_ to be paranoid - as Flora told the old man the job's been done. The village elder looked surprised that the youma's been killed so quickly, but he was also relieved that no more people were going to be dying any time soon.

"A man in black will be coming soon to pick up the payment. Give it to him when he arrives." Flora told him as a reminder.

"Of course,"

Nodding with satisfaction Flora turned on the heels of her sabatons and walked over to her boyfriend. His attention came back to her when he felt her tapping his shoulder and he smiled.

"Time to go?" It was a question that didn't need asking, but Naruto felt like asking it anyway.

"Yes. Until I get my next assignment, all I have to do is keep tracking this so-called Youma Hunter. The Organization is very interested in him for obvious reasons." she answered while they started on making their way out of the village of Yate.

The blond beside her chuckled at that. "Yes. Finding him should take you quite a while." he said with a knowing glint in his eye, "If he's leaving your territory, then you'd have to follow him."

"Yes. I would." she agreed with the exact same glint in her eye. "In fact, there is a good chance he could head on over to the eastern edge of Mucha, to the Great Sea of Fire or beyond."

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

The two of them were well on their way out of the village now. They had just passed the last building marking the edge of the village and were now making their way to the east.

"I've been tracking him for nearly two weeks and he seemed dead set on heading to the east." Flora gave Naruto a sideways glance and asked, "What do you think? Could he have gone to the east, towards Sutare where the Organization is… or to the west, towards Lautrec?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know to be honest. I mean, it seems like the Youma Hunter was just wandering around aimlessly. He could go anywhere at this point." he pointed out, and knowing full well that Flora knew the Youma Hunter is himself, everything he said was rhetorical.

"Very true," Flora admitted. "Then again, I'd imagine that he's getting lonely by now if he doesn't have someone. There's a town a bit more up north that's rather famous for its high-end whores." The way she said that made it clear that she was indirectly suggesting they go that way. She did owe him a reward, after all.

Naruto chortled. "Are you thinking of disguising yourself as one to seduce him?"

"It would keep him on one place until the Organization sends a representative," Flora giggled. "I suspect they want to recruit him."

"That or keep him in one place where they can try and assassinate him…" Naruto pointed out.

By the gods, she sincerely _hoped_ not! If she found him dead, Flora would probably awaken from sheer grief at this point.

Sensing Flora's well-hidden worry, Naruto pulled her into a one-armed hug and gave Flora a peck on the cheek. "He'll be fine, though, even if they're dumb enough to try that" Naruto assured her. "No man who can take out dozens of youma without breaking a sweat is easy to kill."

Both Naruto and Flora were well away from the village of Yale by this point and Naruto dropped the henge that disguised his clothes, putting him back in his original dark ones. Though he was still missing his Sage Coat, mask, and horned forehead protector.

"Besides, I fought things that would make youma look like kittens in comparison. Not to mention I was trained by the best of the best in my world. I won't get caught off guard so easily." he reminded her; now that they were out of ear-and-eye shot of the town Naruto saw no reason to hide they were talking about him.

Flora felt a lot better now that she was reminded about that.

Now, she could do whatever she wanted - within reason of course - as she 'followed' the Youma Hunter.


	4. Chapter 4

It's been four days since he and Flora left Yale and things had gone a little hectic.

It seems no matter where he goes, there's always a youma or two lying in wait somewhere. To be honest it was rather exhausting. He did not envy his girlfriend or her compatriotes whatsoever since they had to do this every single day and night with little to no breaks.

As he cleaned the purple blood and other gore off of his trench knife, Naruto, now fully clad in his 'Youma Hunter' attire, looked around. There was a _lot_ of bodies that were missing limbs, and had cleave wounds cutting their torsos almost in half.

There had to be at least two dozen youmas. Maybe more. The purple blood and gore went on for quite a bit, since Flora had taken it upon herself to try and kill as many as possible, as fast as possible. There was a literal trail of blood, limbs and bodies. With a sigh Naruto put his trench knife away in its holder and followed the trail of blood and gore Flora left behind in her little rampage.

Guess that town with those 'high-end whores', as Flora put it, can wait a bit. These youma did come from the North, so they'd have to check it out and see if it was still standing or not. But first he had to find Flora.

When Naruto eventually found her again, it was to see her killing the last remaining youma, who was missing an arm and a leg, by stabbing her through the back of her head and out through her mouth. Then she dragged the sword sideways and back again, severing the head and leaving the bottom half of her jaw attached.

Amazingly, she didn't have a drop of blood on her as not a single youma even got close enough before she cut them down.

"It seems you have everything here handled," Naruto said, drawing her attention to him. "I have to admit, seeing you attack so fast it's like you didn't draw your sword is scary… and sexy."

Flora smiled at her boyfriend, his complements significantly brightening her mood.

"Why, thank you!" she was positively beaming right now. They've been together for nearly three weeks now, (two weeks and three days) and this is the happiest she's ever been!

As much as he didn't want to put a damper on her mood, Naruto had to bring this to her attention. "Do you think there are more youma's nearby?"

"There aren't any I can sense, but I only have an average range," Flora replied with a sigh.

Naruto frowned at that and closed his eyes. "...I can't sense anything around us, either." he said after a moment of silence. He opened his eyes again and looked at her. "Good news: there's no one around us in a one mile vicinity. Bad news: they came from the North, in the direction of that town you indirectly suggested we go to. Want to check it out, and make sure they're okay?"

"Yeah, that would be the best thing to do right now," she replied. "I hope they are…"

Naruto pulled her into a comforting hug upon seeing her concerned expression and rubbed her back. "Hey, if they aren't alright, we did avenge them. And if they are alright… well… we did stop a small platoon of youma from causing future harm."

Flora gave him a peck on the forehead and urged him to get moving. "You're right," she said. "Now, let's get going. I want to check on them as soon as possible."

"Aye, my fair lady, I shall obey your commands~" he saluted her with a playful grin.

With one of her own, she decided to tease him a bit. "Then, I command you to give me a baby~!"

She got a hearty laugh out of Naruto's blush, before giving him another peck. Truth be told, she knew it was impossible, though she honestly wondered if she'd mind popping one out for him. Her cheeks flushed at the thought, but she filed that away for later.

With that out of the way, both Naruto and Flora made a beeline for the currently nameless town.

* * *

Lucia was Number 12 of the Organization. She was very young and not the strongest by any stretch of the imagination. But despite that, she was only a few ranks away from hitting the single digits, mostly because of her staggering intelligence. She was second only to Phantom Miria in that regard and would probably surpass even her in a few years.

She figured if she got herself a special technique, then she would be able to increase her rank by a few numbers.

Staying in a rather expensive room in a tavern, the young woman looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had short hair in a feminine bowl cut, with the tips ending in spikes, a round, pretty face and almond-shaped eyes. Her large, perky bust and wide flaring hips made it annoying to find clothes that fit for her upcoming assignment in Rabona, as most women didn't tend to have these features on such a small frame. But at the same time, she was rather proud of them.

Lucia let out an irritated sigh. Why did the Organization have to send her to Rabona? That city was so superstitious they would kill any hybrid they find lurking within their walls. It made any mission coming from there incredibly risky, because if you're found out, then that's it. Unless you were to somehow get away, then you're dead thanks to the rules of not allowing to harm or kill any human. Even if it's for self defense.

Then she picked up a rather strong yoki source entering her range. She looked towards the window on the opposite end of her room and out of sheer curiosity walked towards it in order to look wait and see who it was when they got within her line of sight.

* * *

Meanwhile, as they entered the town Flora and Naruto were both relieved to see that it was still standing. As they walked through the street Naruto took everything in. It was a pretty big town, though he had no idea what the name of it is called.

"I can sense a yoki-source in the vicinity," Naruto murmured to his girlfriend, "From the feel of it, it's a 'claymore'. The amount she's giving off isn't as strong as yours but it's close."

"I know," Flora murmured back, "she may be in the lower double digits, possibly rank 11 or 12." she glanced around, "she's located to our left in one of the buildings."

"What's this town called anyway?"

Flora giggled and replied. "Wem. Welcome to Wem. I… was born and raised here, actually…"

"So that's why you were so worried," Naruto mused aloud. "I could tell, even though you did a damn good job of hiding it." he rubbed his chin through his mask and asked, "Is this the last town before we're out of Mucha?"

Flora nodded, "Yes. Wem is near the border between Toulouse and Mucha. And the City of Rabona is at most a few weeks away from here by walking. If we were to run non-stop, we warriors could in theory reach Rabona in a matter of days."

While that was impressive, by this world's standards, Naruto could get there in a matter of hours if he wanted to by using chakra to enhance his running speed. Flora knew that as well. She wasn't kidding when the woman thought he could utterly demolish anyone this world can throw at him. She genuinely believed he was beyond anything this world was capable of throwing at him. Even the Abyssal Ones working together wouldn't be enough.

Naruto and Flora came to a stop just before they came within the line of sight of the building that claymore was in. "It seems the source of the yoki is in that building over there," Naruto said, looking up at the building in question. Then he lazily leaned his head back and looked at Flora, "Ignoring the yoki source inside, do you want to rest in the tavern?"

Flora thought on it for a second and nodded, "Alright, resting on a nice comfortable bed and getting a nice hot bath sounds good right about now." she may not be affected by the cold or heat, but she did enjoy the feeling of hot water soothing her nerves. Flora looked at her boyfriend and asked with a single quirked eyebrow, "And what about you?"

"I have two days worth of food left on me; I need to get more before I run out." Naruto answered.

"I can help pay for that," Flora chirped. "I have plenty of money." Then, she teasingly added, whispering into his ear, "more than enough to buy all the whores you could ever desire, if you want~!"

Naruto chuckled nervously at that. "No need," he replied. "I have _you_ as my girlfriend, you're more than enough,"

Hearing that from her boyfriend brought a smile to Flora's face as she cooed in delight. And just for that she gave him a peck on the nose, even if it was covered by that mask of his. Naruto snorted as the kiss to his nose felt a little weird, but he gave her one of Kakashi's traditional eye smiles in return.

"Let's go see what's available to buy here," the masked blond told her; even if Flora did have enough money to 'buy him all the whores he could ever desire', he had more than enough money on him too. Money he took from all those bandits a while back after trapping them in that dome of water. They weren't going to use it and it would be in much better hands if he had them.

"Okay, follow me, I know a couple of shops that sell food." Flora beckoned him to follow her as she started moving down the road, and past the tavern that had the owner of the yoki in. Flora took a quick look on the first floor and found Lucia peering through the window and looking down at her.

Then Lucia's eyebrows arched in surprise when she saw Naruto himself coming into view. Flora kept the grin that threatened to grow on her lips down. She was enjoying that surprised look on Lucia's face when Naruto came into her line of sight. Maybe they can talk once Naruto gets his food restocked… it's been some time since she last saw one of her comrades, after all.

As he out his hands behind his head Naruto looked at his girlfriend and asked, "So how many shops does this town have?"

"It's pretty big, so it has quite a few. It has a market where a lot of goods are for sale." the woman answered him, then she decided to add a little more information to it since the woman was pretty sure he was curious by the lack of murmuring and whispers when they walked into town. "Toulouse is where most of us warriors are stationed, including the top three warriors because it is easy to move to the other four quadrants of this world. Because Wem is fairly close to the border, a lot of warriors who are heading to Mucha stop by here before setting out on the rest of their journey. So the chances of there being a youma infiltrating this town is very unlikely."

That was good to know. And so, Naruto followed Flora as she guided him to the shops. He honestly hoped the shops here were fully stocked. That way, he would have some variety to eat. He needn't have worried, as the stores in question had a lot of traffic, so being ill-prepared was bad for business. He saw it first hand when he came to the market, many a fruits were on display, from large juicy green apples, to bananas, oranges, grapes, and peaches. There was even bread, dried meat, butter, pork, beef, eggs and plenty of other stuff from weapons, shields, to clothes and even armour. Wem was a blustering town it looked like if it had this much stuff. Yeah, there was _plenty_ of food choices for him to make here. He grinned under his mask and went straight to work on restocking, starting with the fruit stand. Flora merely smiled as she stayed back and watched him mingle with Wem's people.

Without taking her eyes off her boyfriend, Flora tilt her head to the left and seemingly said to nobody, "I was wondering when you would come out."

Lucia, clad in her full gear once more stepped up beside her. "Windcutter Flora," she greeted the woman with but a glance; then she brought her silver eyes back to Naruto, "...is he the so called 'Youma Hunter' the Organization's been trying to find?"

Flora grinned and nodded. "He is," she chirped.

The Number 12 blinked at that and cocked her head to the side as she examined the blond. "He doesn't look like much...at first glance. But appearances can be deceiving." she looked at her superior and asked, "Did you find out how he can tell who is a youma and who isn't?"

Flora shook her head negatively at that. "No, I did not. He did say there are other ways on how to detect who is a youma and who isn't, but he has not elaborated on it… however, he _is_ capable of detecting yoki. He pointed out several youmas to me several days ago, and they were all accurate pointers. He never failed to give away their location, how many numbers there are, where they were in the vicinity. He even sensed you. His yoki sensing is impressive…from what I had seen he may be more than a match for God-Eye Galatea."

That… legitimately startled the Number 12. "Surely, you cannot be serious?!" she couldn't help but look at Naruto's back as she took all that information in.

"I honestly am," Flora replied with a nod. "More than a week ago, I saw him wipe out a bandit camp that was terrorising the town of Barnet in under a minute. He is not someone you want to trifle with."

"Damn…" Lucia muttered. "And...he's friendly, right?"

"So long as he is not provoked," the Number 8 assured her with a nod. And seeing that Lucia had another question on the tip of her tongue, Flora thought it wouldn't hurt to tell her, "My handler gave me the mission to follow him and keep him distracted. If he was to leave Mucha, then I would be obligated to follow." then Flora looked at her, "What about you? What are you doing here in Wem?"

"I have a mission in Rabona. I need to find a disguise to help me get in…" Lucia answered with a long suffering sigh. "Why'd I get stuck with a mission that involves getting inside of a city full of superstitious people?"

Flora winced at that. Many a warrior had been killed shortly after they were discovered in that city. That place was so bad in their superstitions that many a warrior would stay away from it at all costs, since they had an unknown rule that allowed no unnatural things in their city.

"I shall pray to the Twin Goddesses that you make it out alright." Flora told her.

Lucia let out an unladylike snort at that and crossed her arms. "Not the kind of Goddesses you would ask for protection, but it's the thought that counts," she joked. The she looked at Naruto again, "So what's his name?"

Flora pondered if she should answer or not. The Number 8 decided to answer. "Naruto. His name is Naruto."

"Naruto, huh…?" Lucia muttered thoughtfully. "An odd name, though I kinda like it."

"His name is odd," Flora agreed wholeheartedly with Lucia on that, she wondered who would name their child so strangely. Culture difference, was what she chalked it up to. It was a very different world, in fact. Thinking back, she was honestly surprised that humans were able to survive in such an environment with man-eating cats the size of wagons and bugs the size of the very _trees_ they crawled upon. The latter made her skin crawl...

Lucia hummed thoughtfully at that. "What's he like?" she asked out of pure genuine curiosity. The Number 12 didn't have any intention of spilling the beans to her handler or anything like that, but she was curious as to what the Youma Hunter was like personality wise. "Since you seem to be cozy around him, and mentioned he was friendly, he can't be that bad."

Flora thoroughly surprised her by blushing and giggling. "He's so sweet," she cooed. "Always caring about others and treating them with respect. Even those like us." she grinned outright at that and added, "I don't know if I mentioned this before, but he sees _us_ as human beings."

"You never." taking her eyes off of Naruto to look at Flora, Lucia was...genuinely taken by surprise again, and for good reason, it's rare for a human to _not_ fear people like them. "So he's one of the rare humans that don't fear us for what we are… interesting."

The Number 8 looked at the Number 12 from the corner of her eye, "Would you like to get to know him before you leave~?"

The mischievous tone in Flora's voice went ignored. "It wouldn't hurt." Lucia answered with a shrug and a thoughtful look on her pretty face. "I have some time to spare before I need to leave… I still need to find myself a disguise, after all."

"You certainly have the curves to pose as a courtesan," Flora impishly pointed out. "I'm actually rather jealous."

Lucia chortled at that and crossed her arms under her bosom. "You don't need to be jealous…finding clothes to fit my figure is a bitch and a half." Don't get her wrong, she _loved_ her curves and bust, but she hated that there are few clothes other than her uniform that fits her when she needs to disguise herself.

"I can only imagine," Flora giggled. "I know where you can find a good tailor, though. Even if you need a custom job, he's pretty quick about it. I have yet to see him take more than three days to make something."

"Is that so?" Lucia curled her finger against her chin, "I'll have to check this tailor out in that case."

"If you want I can point the way to you?" offered Flora.

"Maybe later, I still want to meet the Youma Hunter and gauge him for myself." Lucia replied.

Unknown to either of the girls Naruto was subtly looking at them as the owner of the fruit stand handed him a few bags containing different fruit. The blond handed the man the required amount of Bera in return. Then he went to get some dried meat, bread and some other foods to eat while making sure he kept them within eyesight and within hearing range.

It seems this Lucia woman is rather interested in meeting him. He will introduce himself to her after he's finished up here. He had to admit, though, she had one hell of a rack. Though it wasn't to the level of Tsunade's, it was still quite easily easily in the top ten he'd ever seen - bigger than Hinata's, even!

After spending several minutes getting a few weeks worth of food, Naruto made sure to secure the bags to his waist before turning around to rejoin his girlfriend. Though with so many people around it made getting behind the two hybrids too easy. They didn't notice him. Nor did they notice when he leaned in until his head was practically in between their heads. He looked at Flora, then at Lucia, then back at Flora again.

"Y'know," his voice startled the two of them something fierce, "if I was an enemy, you'd be dead right about now." Naruto pointed out to them with an amused look, that was shown only through his eye smile.

"Glad you're not," Flora replied, taking a deep, calming breath. The poor woman nearly jumped out of her own skin!

"Yep." To Lucia's surprise she saw Flora blushing when Naruto put an arm around her shoulders and pull her in for a hug, "Good thing I'm not. Who knows what I might be doing right now,"

There was so many ways someone could interpret that, it was no surprise Flora's mind went down the gutter. It didn't help she was pressed to his side, with an arm around her shoulders.

Flora started giggling like a schoolgirl with a crush, complete with reddened cheeks…and that only got Naruto to gave her an odd look that had some concern in it. The masked blond was still dense, even though she's his girlfriend, so he wasn't able to connect the dots.

This side of Flora...had utterly surprised the Number 12. Never in her life had she thought she'd see one of her kind acting in such a manner.

Then Naruto looked at her and gave her a friendly wave with his other hand. "Hi! I'm Naruto, and you are?"

"My name is Lucia," she replied with a polite smile. "Pleased to meet you!"

"The pleasure is mine, Lucia," Naruto then looked at his girlfriend, then Lucia, back to his girlfriend and back to Lucia again, "So I've heard you wanted to get to know me?" he asked and almost grinned at the surprised wide-eyed look he got from her.

Naruto was completely ignoring the stares he was getting from the normal people in the vicinity. It's like they hadn't seen someone talk so casually to a woman before! Probably not to a bunch of 'claymores', sure, but seriously it shouldn't _that_ surprising! He was interested to note that some seemed less surprised than others, though. An oddball or two here and there even gave him a jealous glare of all things! That was amusing if he was honest. Perhaps it was because this place had a lot of 'claymores' pass by?

"How'd you know?!" Lucia was _sure_ they weren't talking that loud! Not to mention the commotion around them would have nearly drowned out anything they said! So how did he know?!

Naruto just shrugged with an amused roll of his eyes, "I have good hearing." Was the simple answer. Then he gave her another eye smile, "Still, though, you want to get to know me, right?"

"Y-yeah," Lucia replied shyly, feeling her cheeks turn a bit pink. She'd never been approached like this by a guy before. It was very strange, but admittedly pleasant.

"Alright then!" Naruto was positively beaming at that, and managed to get an adorable little squawk out of Lucia when he got an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a one-armed hug. Flora was amused by her boyfriend's antics. "Either of you sexy ladies know a good inn nearby we can sit down and chat in?"

"We _did_ pass that tavern she was in, in case you forgot." Flora pointed out to him with a dry look.

"Ah. Fair enough," he replied sheepishly. "We can go there, then, if you want… unless there's another you'd prefer?" Naruto looked between the two women he had his arms around with expectancy in his eyes.

"I'm fine with it," Flora replied, her expression shifting to an eager grin.

"I do have a room there," Lucia told them with a nonchalant shrug. "So it would be a shame not to use it." She turned beet red at Flora's impish look, knowing precisely where her fellow blonde's mind went.

Naruto was utterly unaware what was going through Flora's mind though and he nodded, "Alright. I got a couple of weeks worth of food, so I'm done getting supplies. Let's head on over there now then."

"Okay." Lucia smiled as she pushed aside her embrassassment and lead her fellow warrior and her companion to the tavern she was in. Though there was one question nagging her, "What age are you?" he sounds fairly young so in her mind asking what age he was sounded rather reasonable.

Naruto saw no harm in letting her and Flora know. "I am 15-years-old."

That little revelation surprised Flora and Lucia both; more so for Lucia, since he sounded older than that! Flora was surprised because he acted like a mature _man_... with a hint of playfulness mixed into it. She honestly forgot he was still in his 15th cycle.

Granted, he was still old enough to be considered an adult, but still!

"Good thing I like 'em young," Flora cooed teasingly.

"Careful now," Naruto berated her just as teasingly, "people might get the wrong idea…" he trailed off and trailed his eyes left and right at the civilians looking at them as they walked back to the tavern Lucia was in. "Of course, they _might_ just get jealous because two beautiful women like you has taken an interest in me."

Lucia blushed heavily at that and while Flora was very flattered at the compliment, she lightly swatted him on the chest with a smile. She didn't want to give their little audience the wrong idea after all. "Oh, don't tease me like that, you~!" She couldn't hold in the giggle if her life depended on it, feeling a bit lightheaded from all the compliments and flirting.

Naruto's smile was unseen, but they could see it from the way his eyes crinkled in amusement. "Who says I'm teasing? Being half-youma's aside, you both are very pretty. I don't see _why_ anyone would treat you like you're monsters. If they didn't give you a wide berth and actually treated you as human women, your lives would be a little easier. I'd might as well _be_ one of the people that treats you like you're ordinary people."

Naruto chuckled and caught the wobbling Number 12 before she could topple over. Her cheeks were now inventing a whole new shade of red as the world spun from her sheer embarrassment and happiness.

"Woah! Easy there, watch your step," It's not that uncommon that someone takes a misstep, so that was what Naruto made it seem like. He even got his arm under Lucia's, and 'helped' her back up. He accidentally copped a feel as well but Lucia didn't _seem_ to notice, thankfully. "I guess it's a good thing we're heading to the tavern, huh?"

They were actually close to it now. It was a few steps away and they would be at the front door and on their way in. He slung one of Lucia's arms over his shoulders and let her lean on him while they stumbled towards the tavern. Once they got there and inside the building, Lucia who was still leaning against Naruto led them to the room she was occupying during her stay here.

All the while, Flora had never been so amused in her life. Never did she think miss Number 12 here would be so embarrassed from a handful of complements as to nearly faint on the spot. At least she was still coherent enough to still lead the way, and completely ignored the stares the people around them were giving them. It wasn't until they had gotten up the stairs and out of eyesight that Naruto came to a stop a few steps away from the staircase and let Lucia get her bearings.

Thankfully, it didn't take long, though he wouldn't have minded scooping her up into a bridal carry and bringing the woman to her room. ...actually, now that he thought on it, she had her sword in the back slot and was wearing her armour. Those would have made it awkward. He still wouldn't have minded though.

Once they got to the door of her room, opened it and walked inside, Naruto couldn't help but take everything in with a low whistle. This was a legitimate suite. It was damn expensive.

Then Lucia went over to the table in the room - and it was a _big_ one at that - and took off her armour, cape, and sword and set them all on the table in front of her and leaving herself in just her two-piece bodysuit. Flora smiled, got out from under Naruto's arm and went to do the exact same thing as Lucia did.

Pulling down his mask completely - letting it act as a turtleneck - Naruto tilt his head to the side once he _finally_ saw Flora's round, firm ass. And he liked what he saw. "I was right Flora, you _do_ have a nice ass." he looked at Lucia's ass too and added, "The same goes for you Lucia~"

Naruto chuckled, swearing he could see steam rising from the latter's head.

"Th-thank you," Lucia replied shyly. She had no idea how else to react. Flora on the other hand was still blushing, but she was enjoying the attention far more openly since he was her boyfriend.

"You don't need to thank someone who means what they say," Naruto pointed out to Lucia with a chuckle, "But you're welcome."

Flora could barely contain herself. She wanted to rock his world at this point. They were a couple for over two weeks and she already felt this strongly for him… It was just a matter of letting him know.

She took a deep, calming breath. Turning Flora walked over to her boyfriend, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into a tight hug with his face buried in her bosom. "You're so sweet~!" Flora cooed lovingly, before letting out a squawk when she felt his hands grabbing a handful of her ass.

Flora giggled and wrapped a leg around him, grinding her mound against him enticingly. "Y'know," she said, "We've been a couple for a while now…" She rubbed his back with one hand and held him to her breast with the other as she giggled again. "I'm ready to take our relationship to the next step, my dear~!" She cooed and licked her lips hungrily upon feeling something poke her.

Flora's words drew a shocked gasp from Lucia who almost shouted, "Wha- a couple?!" Wasn't she meant to keep an eye on him or something?! How did that end up with _them_ becoming a couple?!

The Number 8 giggled impishly, "Of course, Naruto is one of a kind, you saw how he's treating us. There was no way in hell I was letting him slip out of my grasp." She flashed her peer a wolfish grin and added, "I even offered to buy him some nice whores if he wanted them and he said I was enough, the dear. I was so happy to hear that, I nearly jumped him right then and there~!"

"Because you _are_ enough for me," Naruto told her, muffled by her bosom as he was.

Oh, that did it! Flora pushed him down to the ground and straddled her boyfriend, a ravenous look in her eye. "Keep that up and I'll fuck you into a coma~!" She growled lustfully, a wide, tooth-baring grin upon her face. She could feel a pang of hunger radiating from her loins as her nipples poked out, threatening to cut through her top,

As exciting as all this was…Naruto was also a little intimidated. No, actually, he was _very_ intimidated! Holy shit, this woman was thirsty! How was he supposed to react?! Naruto let out a nervous chuckle as his dick poked at her once more, wanting to pop out and dive right into the hot-ass blonde's honey pot.

Flora moaned and giggled at the sensation. "Oh, my~! Someone's packing an impressive, little sword~!" It wasn't little at all; she could tell.

"Y-you're sure you wanna do this?" Naruto asked after he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I-I don't want you to find yourself regretting it later."

"What I regret is waiting this long," Flora assured breathily. "I want it. I want you… I want us to take it as far as you'll let me~!"

Naruto was _way_ out of his depth here. Damn it what would Pervy Sage do?! What would his advice be?!

...On second thought, he knew damn well that man would be cheering him on right now. He can almost hear him right now.

" _C'mon, you brat! Take the lead! Show her what you can do!"_

Naruto's eyes almost went dull at the spectral sound of Jiraiya's voice sounding in his head. Yeah… That is _exactly_ what he'd expect Pervy Sage to say if he found him in this situation. Still… maybe Lucia can do something to stop this before it actually does go out of hand?

" _No!"_ the mental conjuration of Jiraiya cried out in despair, _"Don't think that! This is the closest thing you've had to getting some action! Don't. Blow. It!"_

Yeah, totally ignoring him now.

"Hey, Lucie," Flora called out. "You wanna join in~?"

"I-I'm fine with just watching," she replied shyly.

"Oh, please, I know a horny woman when I see one," Flora giggled, before jokingly asked, "Shall I _order_ you to~?"

"Uh, to be fair, she _did_ want to get to know me…" Naruto awkwardly pointed out, he even went so far as to raise a finger to emphasise that.

"Indeed she did," Flora giggled, leaning down to give her man a peck on the forehead. Then, she returned her attention to Lucia and asked, "how 'bout it? You wanna get to know _every manly inch_ of my boyfriend~?"

There's an innuendo somewhere in there, he just knew it but for the life of him, Naruto couldn't find it.

It took every fiber of her being for Lucia not to faint at the implication. It was so dirty and yet she knew she wanted to~! The Number 12 awkwardly stumbled on up to the couple. She took a deep, calming breath and then nodded shyly. "Y-yes, I do, actually…"

Though she'd die before admitting it, Flora had inadvertently pressed the right button. A hot shiver ran up Lucia's spine at the thought of 'stealing another woman's man', her deepest, darkest fetish rearing its ugly head.

Naruto chuckled nervously once more at the timid, but _very_ hungry look on her face. The little jackrabbit was now trapped between two vixens and he…honestly wouldn't have it any other way.


	5. Chapter 5

"I see, so you have an assignment in that so called 'Holy City', then?"

"Yes. It is why I'm here trying to find a disguise. Since the Holy City of Rabona is so distrusting of anything unnatural, they kill them on the spot. Us warriors included."

"Huh… sounds stupid if you ask me."

"You may think so, but with the youma and voracious eaters running rampant killing people in the dozens every day, it is understandable why they take that mindset."

Despite what happened several hours ago Naruto and Lucia were having a rather pleasant conversation with one another. The two blonds were sitting on the edge of the bed and were just passing the time getting to know one another. It was quite the learning experience for the latter and utterly refreshing to have _someone_ treat her like she's a normal person and not like a monster who could rip open your throat at a moments notice.

Naruto allowed a thoughtful frown to grace his lips. "Infiltration and subterfuge, huh. What exactly are you heading there for anyway?" Colour him curious, but that sort of thing doesn't seem to be their forte. The hybrids seem more geared to fighting head on, not sneaking around.

Lucia shrugged, "Rumour has it a voracious eater has infiltrated the Holy City. I was told to sneak inside, get confirmation and get back out."

"Do you have a way to sneak inside, then? Your eyes are what makes you stand out in a crowd," Naruto pointed out the one flaw he could see in her plan. How was she going to get inside with a disguise if her eyes were going to be silver. The answer was in front of him; he _knew_ what the answer was, but it eluded him.

"We have yoki suppressants." Lucia answered his unasked question unknowingly, "Eating one will suppress our yoki and change our eye colour from silver back to their original colour."

Ah-ha! So _that_ was what they were called! This world he was in had Yoki suppressants to suppress their power, while his world had chakra pills to grant the user more chakra. If he was right, then the yoki suppressants made the hybrids as weak as normal human beings. A simple price to pay for taking the suppressant. The chakra pills worked in a similar yet different manner. Only it was at the expense of exhausting yourself.

"I see, and how long will this assignment of yours take? A week? A month?"

Lucia shrugged at that. "Anywhere between a week and a month," investigating a rumour can be a fickle thing. Depending on the nature of the rumour in question it could take her a single day to verify the truth of it, or a month. Maybe more.

"Undercover operations tend to be a bit on the long side," Flora pointed out as she pushed herself up off the ground with a grunt, looking like utter hell. Damn, she was sore, but that was _so_ worth it~!

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Naruto replied with a chuckle and he pulled his _naked_ , sweaty girlfriend onto his bare lap and wrapped his arms around her stomach.

He saw her stigma and wasn't put off by it. The blond had seen worse things than that. It was literally just a gash, stitched shut. And besides, those stitches were more durable than he thought.

In a similar state of dress was Lucia. She too was butt ass naked, though the Number 12 had recovered from the fucking much quicker than Flora ever did.

"How's my sexy girlfriend, hmm?" Naruto gave his girl a loving peck on the cheek and lovingly rubbed his cheek against her shoulder.

Flora shuddered longingly at that. "Half-tempted to go for another round," she admitted with a heavy blush. "You have no idea how addicted I'm becoming to your affection. I'm… I'm honestly falling for you."

"Oh? You mean you weren't before?" Naruto already knew she genuinely wanted him to be her boyfriend. It was why he said yes, because there was no deceit. None that he could sense anyway.

"Not _this_ badly," Flora giggled. "I was hoping you'd say yes, and I was so glad you did… and as we got closer over time, I…" she hesitated

"Ah, say no more," Naruto told her, hugging the wavy haired woman to him and he used the new angle to plant kisses on the crook of her neck.

Flora moaned happily, instinctively grinding her rear against him as hot shivers ran up her spine. "I never thought I could be so happy…" she muttered timidly, a small grin upon her face as she blushed like a schoolgirl.

They were interrupted by Lucia clearing her throat and Flora gave her comrade a sheepish grin. She had forgotten Number 12 was here. Oops?

Lucia rolled her eyes amusedly.

Naruto just laid the side of his head against the back of his girlfriend's shoulder, nuzzling her like he was a cat begging for attention. Though he too was grinning sheepishly, even if the blond in question didn't forget about Lucia's presence.

"So when are you planning on leaving?" Lucia asked.

"As soon as we've gotten some downtime and rest. Since my assignment is to watch over him, and make sure he doesn't get into any fights with youma… and I personally think that's a lost cause itself, my mission is indefinite until further notice." Flora answered, while lightly patting her boyfriend on the arm. While they were busy fucking for the past few hours, they were also talking during that time and Lucia had learned a few more things. Like what her mission _actually_ entailed. Find the blond and keep him distracted or in one place so he doesn't take their jobs, and their money, away from the Organization.

Naruto was actually amused and unworried when he learned that. Mostly because he already knew; he and Flora did share each other's memories after all thanks to him connecting their very souls.

He wondered if it was possible for him to heal that stigma of hers, seeing how much trouble it'd caused her, but didn't want to get her hopes up only to fail. Besides, he's not as strong as he used to be. And his Six Paths Sage Mode, and the powers that come along with it is connected to the chakra of all nine tailed beasts… which is a big potential fatal problem, right now. His connection to Kurama isn't there anymore. He still has the fox's chakra, but there's only enough of it left to keep him alive. A single tails worth of it. And Naruto had no idea if it could sustain itself and never run out… or… if he was to use it, would it run out and end up killing him? He didn't want to take that risk if he can help it; anything relating to that power is a no go.

Maybe he could fashion a medical seal for the job? It would take a while, and a lot of trial and error, but that sounded like it was worth looking into, at least. He'd have to increase his knowledge on sealing techniques, as well. Maybe the toads can help him out, since his late mentor was their summoner as well as his own father. Those were thoughts for later… For now, he just focused on giving Flora all the attention she could ever want. He didn't know why, but spoiling her was fun. The woman in question giggled upon feeling Naruto kissing her shoulder and the crook of her neck again.

Unable to help herself, Flora reached behind his head, craned her neck and gave him a loving kiss full on the mouth. "You're leaving me seriously tempted to pin you down and ride you like a pony," she giggled.

Naruto snorted and gave her a smile, "Seems I'm doing something right then." he told her. He lightly pressed his fingers against her stitching and just traced them along.

As he traced his fingers against her stitching, something Flora took no notice of, Naruto was wondering to himself just how he ended up with two naked, downright gorgeous women? No matter how it happened he wasn't going to change anything. With a smile he pecked Flora on the lips and moved his fingers away from the stitching to rub at her thighs, like a masseuse would do for a client.

Flora shuddered blissfully, a pang of longing wracking her to the core. Her cheeks were now stained a dark red as she started grinding against his crotch once more.

Yes he definitely did not want to change this for anything.

* * *

Several hours later, as the sun was going down, Flora did her _damnedest_ to hide the limp she had as she set forth from the tavern to meet with her handler. Naruto was nowhere to be seen as he was wandering around Wem at this time.

'Scouting ahead', he called it. And then he opened the window to their room, and scaled the walls to the roof before vanished into the night like a true assassin, using the darkness to shadow his movements. How he achieved that feat in a coat like his baffled her. But she wasn't going to question it.

That served her well, actually. Since she could now report to Roberto without looking too suspicious. As for the handler in question she saw him wandering in Wem several minutes after Naruto vanished and they locked eyes. He simply frowned and merely beckoned her to come outside.

Handlers and those from the Organization did not like those who disobeyed or ignored orders them. So, she obeyed him. Which is where she is now, garbed in only her sabatons and two-piece bodysuit, looking for her handler who most likely wants a status update on her assignment.

She found him in an alley nearby. So, Flora walked over there.

Having that peptural frown on his face, Roberto huffed once his charge finally got to him. "I need a status update. I received a letter from a messenger bird that the higher ups are getting impatient at your lack of progress."

Flora resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that. "No need for them to get riled up," she told him, "I have made substantial progress in regards to my assignment. I have made contact with the so called 'Youma Hunter'."

That prompted the frowning man to frown less. He looked rather intrigued now. "Oh?"

Flora nodded in the affirmative, "Yes. I established contact with him three days ago on my way here. And I have garnered some information on him, scant as is."

"What kind of information? Is it how he is capable of discovering who is a youma and who isn't?"

This was where Flora decided to tell a partial truth, and a partial lie. For her sake as well as Naruto's.

"Unfortunately not. I can however, assure you he _is_ capable of telling who is a youma and who isn't. How he does it, the Youma Hunter has not elaborated. But as I travelled with him, he was able to correctly point out how many youmas there are in the vicinity, where they are, and even minute detail on their positions. I have seen him effortlessly dispatch a few that tried to ambush him by his lonesome just before I caught up to him."

"What can you tell me of his skill level and fighting style?"

"He uses small, easily concealed weapons," Flora stated, recalling what she had seen of him use when they were travelling together thus far, "A pair of custom made knives with knuckle guards. He also seems to like occasionally using small shivs as throwing weapons and he uses them with great accuracy. He can also move as fast as us warriors when he wants to. And…" she hesitated here, "...he managed to wipe out an entire fortified encampment of bandits and outlaws that was harassing the town of Barnet by himself. His level of skill is perhaps fairly similar to us warriors who are in the Single Digits. However, he was shown to be incapable of utilizing yoki when performing these feats. I am not sure how he did it, only that he did."

"I see…" Roberto frowned, and he frowned heavily. So the Youma Hunter can move as fast as Single Digit warriors, but uses no yoki to achieve this feat. He can also accurately detect how many youmas there are and give accurate minute updates on their movements with no yoki either. And he is skilled enough to wipe out a fortified encampment by himself. However, there was _one_ tiny little flaw in her detailing.

"How do you know the Youma Hunter was the one who destroyed the encampment at Barnet?" he asked, no, outright demanded.

"I followed his foot tracks," was the bland, but obvious answer from Flora. "My guess is that he used some types of explosives or ignited something in the camp itself after seeing the damage to the area, but the lacerations on bandits' remains and the ground where the encampment was once located imply that the blast wasn't used to kill them. After that, I followed his tracks to Yate, and finally caught up to him heading here. I've been by his side trying to learn as much about him ever since, while trying to keep him in one place and distract him." she finally concluded.

"And you're sure he won't just slink off while you're here?"

"I… had to resort to less-savoury tactics to ensure that, but yes." Flora admitted. And she didn't regret it. At all. "Also, he seems to view us Warriors in a sympathetic light. He sees us as still human, despite our status as artificial half-breeds. I am using this to my advantage to gain his confidence and trust." Letting her handler think she was using Naruto's view of her as still human to her advantage would give her a couple of brownie points… as well as an excuse in the event that she wasn't able to hide her limp after a good pounding.

She doesn't even like the guy so Flora felt no guilt lying to him, and in turn the rest of the Organization. She will use half-truths to get her way and she will do it gladly.

"Good to know," Roberto said with an approving nod. "I will be back in a week to check on you. Do whatever it takes to keep him here and don't lose sight of him, whatever the circumstances. Understood?"

"Yessir," Flora replied with a smile and polite nod. "Am I to follow him if he was to leave?"

"Yes," his answer was crisp and to the point. "That part of your assignment still applies."

"Very well, is there anything else?"

"No, that will be all."

With that said and done Handler Roberto walked past his charge and out of the alleyway before taking a sharp left and walking out of the insignificant little town that was Wem entirely.

Flora let loose the breath she didn't know she was holding when he was out of earshot and groaned as she limped away. Fuck, she was so damn sore! That boyfriend of hers had beaten her raw with his dick… and she loved it!

"Hmm… I don't like him," Flora jumped in surprise when she heard the voice of her boyfriend coming from… the spot where Handler Roberto was? She turned around and stared.

Then low and behold Naruto himself seemed to slip out of the very shadows themselves. Emerging from the darkness like a mirage. He had one of his trench knives in his hand, poised to strike. From where the tip of the blade was pointed, and where Handler Roberto was standing, he would have stabbed the much older man through the neck, severing the spinal cord that was connected to the skull. He would have died instantly.

Then Naruto put the trench knife back into its holder on his waist. And looked at his girlfriend with impressed eyes, "Half-truths, and fake information with a tinge of truth in it. You'd make a good kunoichi," he complimented her.

Flora smiled at him, appreciating the comment. "Thank you," she chirped. "As a nice bonus, I can stop hiding this limp you gave me without awkward questions," the woman added playfully.

"It's not my fault you're just as insatiable as I am," Naruto teased with a hearty chuckle. The couple shared a good laugh at that and Naruto let his girlfriend lean on him for support.

"So, what now?" Flora asked.

"I was thinking of heading someplace else. What's that place to the West called… uh, Lawtrak? Lewtrake? Leutwrek?"

"It's Lautrec, honey," Flora corrected him.

Naruto snapped his fingers at that. "Right! That's the word! Thank you, Flora," he chuckled sheepishly. "I was gonna be heading in that direction. I heard it's quite warm there this time of year."

"I've never been there," Flora admitted. "With how far it is though, it'll take us an entire month to get there. We'd have to hunt for food and wood for a campfire along the way, since there's barely any settlements there for us to stay on the way there."

Naruto just couldn't help himself… He just had to tease her a little. "Good, no one to walk in on us while I'm trying to put a baby in you~!" The look on Flora's face was nothing short of priceless. The poor thing was beet red and sputtering as she tried to muster up a response of some kind.

He also knew what was going through her head. "I know, it's not possible to put a baby in you honey. That gash on your front ruined any chances of that happening. However, that doesn't mean I can't fuck your pretty ass like I'm trying to, though, does it~?"

Flora took a deep, calming breath and nodded with a timid but happy smile. Then, it turned into an impish grin as she decided to tease him back. "A-and here I was hoping you found a way~!" She burst out laughing as it was now her boyfriend's turn to blush.

Naruto chuckled heartily at that. "To be fair, we'd make some adorable kids," he commented. Maybe he would find a way if nothing happened and their relationship manages to progress that far. But for now, it was simply too soon.

"That we would," Flora cooed, giving Naruto a peck on the cheek. "Let's get ready for the trip, then, shall we?"

"Sure," Naruto agreed, "It's still night out, though, and I do have two weeks worth of food now. We can wait until morning. Besides, it would be plain rude if we left Lucia without telling her we're leaving."

"So, back to the tavern?"

"Back to the tavern."

With that said and done the couple returned to the tavern and to Lucia's room where they stayed for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next day, Naruto was roused by a pleasant warmth on top of him. It smelled of a woman as well as roses, blood, sweat and tears. He knew that scent well by now. As his eyes fluttered open, he smiled at the sight of a cutely snoozing Flora snuggling on up to his chest. She wasn't naked this time around, since the woman slept in her bodysuit, but it still left little to the imagination.

A quick look outside showed it was near mid-day. And Lucia's gone; her equipment and sword included. She must've left for Rabona while they were sleeping. He couldn't sense her anywhere in Wem, which only solidified it for him. He could also feel something on his cheek, though. Touching the area, he blinked in realization that it was lipstick. It seems he made quite the positive impression on someone.

Seeing as the Organization is expecting him to stay in one place - fat chance of that happening - and most likely keep an eye on him, Naruto thought it would be best to keep one step ahead of them. As much as he loved having Flora use him as a pillow, they needed to get moving.

"Flora," he lightly shook the woman on top of him. "It's time to wake up,"

She mumbled cutely and rubbed her cheek against his chest. "Five more minutes," she cooed. "The kids don't need to be up for a while."

Naruto turned beet red at that. Clearly, she was dreaming. A good one from the sound of it. He was almost tempted to let her rest some more… _almost_.

Naruto lightly shook her again, "Come on, Flora. If we want to stay one step ahead of the Organization, then we need to get up and head to Lautrec as soon as possible."

Flora mumbled incoherently looking a bit confused as her eyes fluttered open. "A-wha…?" She shook her head to get the cobwebs out and yawned. "And I was having such a nice dream, too…" she whined with a childish pout as she stretched and yawned again.

"So I heard," Naruto chuckled, patiently waiting for her to wake up. Once she had, Naruto couldn't help but tease her. "Just how many kids are we talking in this dream of yours?"

Flora blushed and averted her gaze shyly. "F-fifteen…"

If he was drinking something, Naruto would have done an amazing spit take right then and there. That was… ambitious. "Fifteen?! You sure you can handle that many?" Naruto isn't an expert on the female body… sexy jutsu notwithstanding… but he was sure a single woman popping out that many would make them barren… or something almost as damaging.

"I'd certainly be willing to try... were I not made barren by that operation, of course."

Naruto frowned slightly at the tinge of sadness he heard and pulled Flora down into a comforting hug. Flora smiled warmly at the attention and gave Naruto an appreciative peck on the forehead.

"Right," the Number 8 sighed tiredly after a long, awkward silence. "Before we get any more sidetracked, I suppose now's as good a time as any to get ready. Shall I get you something to eat?"

"I got several bags worth of food and fruit on the table." Naruto answered, gesturing to said table that had his weapons, sage coat, mask, forehead protector, clothes and several bags of food on top of it. There was even a waterskin full of water amongst them as well. "I can get something to eat from that. And watch your pretty ass while I'm at it."

Add some nice words and she'll feel good about herself and will not feel depressed. It worked with Flora so far so it didn't seem far fetched that complimenting her would make her happy.

"Just making sure", she said with a legitimately flattered smile. Then she got up and out from under the covers and off the bed itself to get her armour, cape, and sword back on. Naruto got up and did the same, though he took less time to get ready since the blond didn't wear any plate armour. The only type of armour he wore under his clothes was mesh. It was a more, efficient version of padded leather armour, that give him equal defense without sacrificing maneuverability. And he always wore that, since it was now more a part of his 'off-duty' clothes, which was what he also wore during missions. Once he was done getting dressed and geared up, he helped Flora out with the spaulders and back plate to speed things up - 'accidentally' copping a feel or two while he was at it, much to Flora's amusement.

"It seems you can't keep your hands off of me~" she teased him goodnaturedly.

"I can't help it if you're beautiful," Naruto teased back, giving her nice ass a little swat for good measure.

Flora giggled and gave him a peck on the lips. "I take it everything's packed up?"

"Yep. Everything's packed. I got the pouches of food tied to my waist - I can seal them away once we're far enough away from Wem." Carrying all that for a month would tire him out a lot quicker. While storing food away can be helpful in the long run, since he wouldn't be carrying things that will slow them both down, time does continue to go on so the organic contents will have to be used or else they'll go off.

Flora smiled and nodded, grabbing his hand and pulling him along as they left the room and then the tavern itself. Soon after they found themselves in the bazaar of Wem, Flora laced her fingers with his, her cheeks stained red once more. She wasn't limping anymore, so they made good time.

As they passed by, Naruto could feel several odd looks from the crowd, though they were vastly outnumbered by the jealous ones, much to his and Flora's amusement.

Soon enough, they'd left the village entirely and were on their merry way.

* * *

An hour and several pouches of food sealed away later, Naruto and Flora were now making good time on their walk to Lautrec.

"What can you tell me about the West?" Naruto asked.

The Number 8 shrugged, "Not much, admittedly. I haven't been there much as the region I was guarding over was in the South. I do know it has a desert, green valleys and mountains though."

"Alright." Naruto replied. "Seems like a good place to explore. I'm not sure if you told me already, but how long would it take for us to get there from here?"

"It would take us a month," Flora answered.

Which means there's little chance they'll be running into Lucia again for quite some time. That was a shame. He liked her if he was honest. She's pretty nice.

Naruto nodded, "Alright. Let's keep moving, then," he said. "I'd like to cover as much distance as we can before we have to set up camp."

He wasn't getting any protest from her. She'd like to cover as much distance as possible herself. So, they did just that…


	6. Chapter 6

**Three days later**

Naruto and Flora had been walking for the past three days, and two nights on their way to Lautrec. So far nothing of note has happened. No youmas were encountered. No warriors were seen. That included settlements; they had yet to even come across a caravan. The mountains that Lautrec was known for were seen in the far distance, and the green lands of Mucha was slowly beginning to bleed away; they could see a valley in the distance as well. The two blonds were about five days away from crossing the border.

Then Naruto had a random thought occur to him. "I've been thinking…" he suddenly said.

Flora looked at her boyfriend from the corner of her eye, "What about?"

"I might have to see how good you are at reacting to threats."

The wavy-blonde frowned at that, "I'll have you know I am pretty good at reacting." She did _not_ like it when someone was being critical of her skills. She's a damn good warrior!

"I don't doubt you, honey," Naruto agreed with her wholeheartedly on that. "But you saw my memories, you _know_ the type of people I went up against. And I saw your memories. Now be completely honest with me: do you _honestly_ think you could react in time to fast opponents like them?"

As much as she wanted to say 'yes', Flora knew the answer, the _real_ answer to that. "No. I won't." She was Number 8 and she had pride in the fact that she had the fastest sword in her generation, but she knew her own limits and knew for a _fact_ if she had to fight any opponents from Naruto's world the way she is now, they'd have her head on a silver platter. She took a deep breath and looked at her boyfriend again, this time giving him her full attention since he was talking about 'how good she can react to threats', "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm going to have you go up against my clones," was the answer. "You're fast at using a sword, there's no denying that. But if you don't have a quick reaction time to _use_ that speed, then you're dead." Then he rested his hands behind his head and leaned back to look into the sky, "My clones are going to surprise you at any point. If you don't succeed in reacting in time… something will happen."

Flora gave him a wary look at that, "...Like what…?" she slowly and cautiously asked.

"That'll be for you to wait and find out, won't it?" He replied with a smile, "We won't start right away… I'll do it sometime later, when you are least expecting it. As soon as you're capable of reacting _before_ it happens, we'll stop."

Flora had no idea why, but she was _not_ looking forward to this. Not one bit. Nevertheless, she put her trust into her man. Given the sort of people he fought back in his world, getting some of that experience - and that reaction time - would increase her survival in this world drastically.

"What are you going to do that will increase my reaction time?"

Naruto shrugged, "Make some clones 'attack' you out of nowhere with little to no warning. Again, I'll be making sure to do it when you are at least expecting it. That way you can react accordingly."

Flora thought on it for a moment before nodding her consent, "Alright."

That sounds like a good idea on paper, she had to admit. Many a warrior had met their end because they were unable to react in time when an Awakened Being took them by surprise. In a similar manner to what Naruto suggested having his clones do to her. If he was going for that, then it would be beneficial for her in the long run.

* * *

Lucia was, for all intents and purposes, not amused.

After getting her disguise ready for infiltration, Lucia was surprised to meet a handler while she was on her way to Rabona. She was even more surprised to learn her mission had changed; she was no longer going to infiltrate Rabona to confirm if the rumour of a voracious eater being inside is true or not; because several people had already died, and a priest from within the Holy City had reached out to the Organization for aid in dealing with it.

So, she was reassigned to head North. To group up with Number 7 Eva, and three others for a small mission. A reconnasense one. Apparently there is some stirring in the North that has the Organization cautious and they want a team to go there and give them eyes and ears so to speak. It would take her at least three weeks of walking to get there if she didn't take any breaks.

At most, it would take her around a month, if she had to deal with youmas along the way, on top of needing to eat and sleep.

The mission would start as soon as everyone gets there and finding each other. And seeing as Number 7 and the others are being pulled from the region they're watching over, that will take some time indeed. And she wasted all that Bera for nothing. Well, at least the clothes she bought for that mission would be useful to whoever was sent to kill that fucker.

* * *

Several hours later, with Flora and Naruto.

As they set up camp to rest for the rest of the day, the Number 8 leaned against the flat of her sword, staring at the valley she and Naruto were heading to. She wondered what Lautrec is like in comparison to Mucha. Would there be less youma? Would she find more bandits to kill?

"SURPRISE!"

Whack!

"GAH!"

Flora was sent away from her sword by the surprise attack. Rolling across the ground before coming to a stop in a heap. Her arms sprawled out around her, mouth tasting dirt, and her ass sticking up in the air. Then she dragged her hands up and pushed herself up, spitting out dirt all the while.

"You're dead," Flora looked up and glared at a smirking Naruto, who proceeded to dispel himself before she could retaliate, showing that he was a clone.

The woman looked to her left when she heard Naruto approaching and glared up at him as she pushed herself up to sit on her ankles.

"I did say my clones would be surprising you when you least expect it," he reminded her. And something was supposed to happen if she didn't react in time, he didn't forget about that.

"Right. You did." she huffed and wiped her mouth. The woman had to admit he did a damn good job surprising her. She would be dead if that clone of his was an Awakened Being. She won't make it easy on the clone the next time, she'll keep her guard up for the foreseeable future.

A puff of smoke.

"DODGE!"

Whack!

"AGH!"

Thump!

Starting from _now_.

* * *

 **Three weeks later**

Naruto and Flora were now in Lautrec, having crossed into the valley 16 days ago. After walking non-stop and only stopping to take a one hour break before setting off again, the couple were far enough inside Lautrec now that Mucha was _way_ behind them now. They were still in the valley itself, that was covered with grass, moss, trees, and little else outside of that. The mountains surrounding them on both sides were breathtaking and it only lead them further and further into the West.

So far neither of them had encountered any youma, which was very refreshing. They didn't run into any other warriors either for that matter, so the only company they had so far was each other.

And having nothing to do but keep on surprise attacking Flora with a clone - who was getting better and better at reacting in time to ward the clone off - it was very, very dull and boring. And since Flora had never been here she had no idea where the towns were. So they were basically wanderers in all but name by this point. More so for Naruto, since that was precisely what he was doing before Flora was sent to find him.

Speaking of the blond in question, he could _swear_ someone was following them. Ever since he and Flora joined up, Naruto had the feeling of being watched. Every time he looked around he saw no one apart from the two of them in the vicinity. It was the damndest thing. He's been trying to put it behind him, but did keep his guard up just in case. You can never be too careful.

But still, who the _heck_ was following them? He had a feeling he would never find out… unless the person, or well, _thing_ in question was to come out of hiding or something.

After several hours of walking, Flora and Naruto decided to take a small break from walking. And the latter took out two scrolls that contained the food he bought from Wem's market. After unsealing the bags that were contained within, Naruto tossed Flora some wrapped up beef jerky, who caught the meat gracefully.

She didn't need to eat much, only once per week, but Flora had to admit that she did like eating. It was one of the few things she enjoyed doing, aside from… well, Naruto… and committing mass murder on bandits and other scum like them.

Speaking of… they'd had all this private time to have a good romp or twelve and hadn't used it even once. Flora leered at the now maskless Naruto as they ate, wondering if she should try getting him into the mood. Now _was_ as good a time as any, was it not?

Naruto suddenly peered off into the distance again with a frown. There goes that feeling of being watched again... he doesn't sense yoki, so Awakened Beings and youma are out. He can't sense chakra either, so _obviously_ no one from his world was here.

Not as far as he could tell, at least. For all he knew, someone like Sasuke managed to find a way here and was simply out of his range, but that was unlikely. Possible, but unlikely.

He wasn't just on another continent, either; the Toad Summons he's been talking too before he met Flora would have been able to bring him back home by now, if that was the case. They _did_ have a secret passageway into Konoha, after all. Instead, all attempts that were made to bring him home just... sent him back here, to this world, for some reason. He could still summon them… somehow. Of course, that didn't mean he was unable to get to Mount Myōboku. They just couldn't get him back home _from_ there, since he would just end up in this world.

That was why he was resigned to stay here, despite the hope he still had to get home. But enough about those depressing thoughts, he noticed his girlfriend was looking at him.

Swallowing the beef jerky, Naruto gave his girl his full attention and smiled at her. "What's up, honey?" God it felt good to call her that!

"Just thinking about how we've been on the road… alone… with no one around to bother us," Flora cooed, her tone becoming more and more sensual as she scooted closer to him. "And yet we haven't given each other much loving for a while…"

Naruto's smile grew at that, "Well… We were on the road for weeks... And I _was_ trying to get your reaction time improved…"

"I know, and I'm grateful," Flora giggled. "But now, I'm… in the mood for something else, if you know what I mean~!"

"Well… we _are_ having a small break from walking… I _suppose_ I can spare an hour or two for my lovely girlfriend,"

Flora leaned in and gave him a brief, but smoldering kiss, before flashing him a sultry grin. "I want you to make me walk funny," she growled sexily. Flora then squealed joyously when she was pulled down into his lap, straddling him with her arms around his shoulders.

"Maybe you should get out of your armour first," Naruto gave her a brief, smoldering kiss of his own, "I can't grab your nice ass if your plate skirt is in the way after all…" he added after withdrawing.

A pang of longing wracked her to the very core as Flora shuddered longingly. Then, she lifted her top to the point that her breasts spilled out, bouncing enticingly. "Something for you to play with while I get it out of the way," she whispered hungrily. Then, she wasted no time as her hands flashed down to the belt loo[ keeping her fauld up and started undoing it. She stiffened and moaned at the feel of her boyfriend latching onto one nipple and kneading the other breast like dough.

Oh, they were going to _fuck_ like rabbits, now~!

Once her fauld was discarded, Naruto's hands went straight to her ass and she got to work on her spaulders, undoing the ties and belt loops that kept them in place - and her back plate, by extension.

Not wanting to be idle, Naruto kissed her full on the mouth and started helping her out with that, copping a feel or two while he was at it. Flora's eyes welled up, burning with joy as she simply couldn't wait any longer. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend once more the instant her faulds, spaulders, and back plate were off, and hastily shoved her tongue right into his mouth as they shared yet another heated liplock. Though her sabatons and vambraces remained, along with her dickie choker, they wouldn't stop Naruto from getting enough of her top and leggings out of the way enough for some fun. If nothing else, they could quickly make themselves presentable if someone walked in on their lovemaking.

Naruto chuckled into Flora's lips as he felt a hand trail down to undo his trousers. Damn, this woman was thirsty! Hell, she was already so damn wet that he could feel it through their clothes!

As they separated, eyes met teary, lust-filled eyes as they smiled lovingly to each other. Flora always had a habit of choking up when Naruto showed her love, the poor dear. It was both heartwarming and heart-wrenching for the young man.

Then, Naruto got an idea, "Say… Flora… Do you have any... Fantasies?"

The Number 8 blushed heavily and giggled at that. "You mean the ones that _haven't_ come true~?" Flora asked half-teasingly.

"Of course," he chuckled, rubbing her cheek with a thumb.

"Aside from having your babies, not much," she admitted. "Though there are a couple~!"

"I see… I would like to hear them some time. What do you think about a fantasy, where you have your way with a hapless young man?"

"Someone has a fetish, does he~?" Flora giggled. "I've admittedly had some… inappropriate dreams of you doing _that_ to _me_ , actually~!"

"Someone's a kinky, beautiful woman," Naruto teased with faux-shocked gasp, "What about having your way with a bandit after defeating him?"

Flora licked her lips. "I often did consider raping the rapists, actually… Never actually did it, though I was admittedly tempted a time or two, long ago."

"Really? The polite, easy-to-get-along, and overly kind Flora has a rape fantasy? I never would have guessed!"

"There was also a massive scandal where an aristocrat knocked up literally all of his servants," Flora added. "You have no idea how jealous I was~!" She rolled her hips naughtily against the boner she felt.

Naruto gave her an odd look at that, "You were disguised as some guy's servant? What for?" he ignored the servants getting knocked up. He was more focused on the fact that _Flora_ may have been disguised as a servant.

"Not that guy's servant," she giggled. "There was a time or two where I dressed as a maid to help protect a lord from a suspected youma. One of them turned out to be a raving mad axe murderer in that case instead. I left the lord to handle that one, since I wasn't allowed to harm any humans, even in self-defense." She shrugged helplessly. "Didn't stop me from pointing them in his direction and scaring him shitless so he could get caught, though."

"Huh…" Naruto was surprised at that. "Well, that was quite the story." It was brief, but what she did say was enough for him to fill in the gaps. Then he gave her a look over, "I can't help but imagine you in a maids uniform now, to be honest."

"I'll buy one, just for you~!" Flora giggled, feeling his dick twitch happily at that. "You think I'd look good with my hair up?"

"Hair up, hair down, you'd look good either way to me," The blond admitted. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Awww~!" Flora swooned at that. She gave him a peck on the nose. "You're so sweet~!"

Naruto chuckled, "And _you're_ so adorable~!" he said, pulling Flora in for a hug. The blond enjoyed the feel of her tits squished against his chest and hugged her to him as much as possible. Naruto rubbed his hand up and down her spine, going down far enough near her ass before trailing his hand back up again.

"Hehehehe… I know," Flora sounded so smug, so certain of that; and Naruto didn't bother correcting her. He adored the woman's cuteness and he liked how easy-going she was. If only he met her sooner…

Flora then pulled him into another kiss and urged him to come down on top of her so they could finally get started. Naruto chuckled and obliged, holding onto her tight as they went to the ground with Flora on her back. His girlfriend moaned happily and lifted her hips to help him pull down her leggings when he reached for them. Soon enough, the woman was fully exposed, her legs raised to give him access to her honeypot as he finished undoing his trousers and released the beastly object of her desire.

Flora shuddered at the feel of his member rubbing up against her lower lips, every fiber of her being crying out to mate with him. Then, she let loose a guttural moan as her boyfriend slid right on into her accommodating folds. Naruto moaned as well, feeling her squeeze him like a fleshy vice. No matter how many times they fucked she was forever as tight as a virgin, thanks to her regeneration, and he absolutely loved it~! Then, he started to move. Thrusting his erect cock into the folds of his girl's snatch like a man possessed.

 _Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!_

He was going to enjoy fucking this _babe_ into the ground. And from the way she was vocially voicing her enjoyment, Flora was loving it just as much as he did.

* * *

Two hours later, a now fully clothed Naruto and Flora were now back on the road. Though the latter was now walking funny, just as she wanted him to make her do. She didn't need to lean against him, though, since her healing factor was working on getting her back to tip top shape. The blissful smile on her face showed that the woman didn't care for it; she got what she wanted after all.

"That was a good way to pass the time, don't you think?" A now much more chipper Naruto asked his girlfriend.

"Uh-huh…" Flora trailed off with a blissful smile. "A _very_ good way to pass the time…" Damn, she wished they could take it farther and make a kid, but the woman was taking what she could get and loving it. She grabbed Naruto's hand and laced her fingers with his as the kept on walking.

Naruto smiled at his girlfriend and held her hand tight. Then he frowned and looked around. "Y'know, I'm kinda wondering where the nearest town is… or a river."

They were still in a valley, for one and they had been walking for the past 16 days without a settlement in sight. At least they didn't cross into the desert Lautrec has, otherwise he would be in big trouble.

"I am afraid I cannot help you there," Flora said with an apologetic shrug. "I usually stuck to my region and only went out of it for assignments that require me to leave it. This," she gestured to the environment around them, "is beyond my expertise."

Naruto got the hint; none of her assignments took her out of Mucha. Still, he had _hoped_ she did know where the nearest town was. He was going to need to find a bigger vantage point and look around… or maybe…

Suddenly, Naruto came to a stop and made Flora look at him with curiosity. His eyes were closed, and his breathing stilled. Then a red pigmentation appeared around his eyes before they reopened, and Flora was taken aback by what she saw.

His eyes were no longer baby blue. They were now yellow with horizontal slits, similar to those of a toad. She saw them in the memories he shared six weeks ago, but never in her life did Flora think she would ever see it outside of battle!

Sage Mode…

Naruto frowned a little in confusion, strange… it seems the person following him is _also_ capable of using Sage Mode. Whoever it is, they're very far away from them to be of any harm. But… there was a feel of familiarity to it. That certainly explained why he couldn't sense them before. Only a Sage (in Sage Mode) could detect another Sage in Sage Mode, and those who are capable of using that are either dead or in the Elemental Nations. It can't be Kabuto either since he's taking care of Orphans in Konoha now...

So who could it be? Naruto pushed those thoughts aside for now. He'll confront this person eventually in the future, his guts were telling him that was going to happen for sure. For now, though, he needs to find out where the nearest sources of life are.

"Naruto…?"

"Just checking where the nearest sources of life are." Naruto told her reassuringly, "It's useful if I want to locate a single person… or several."

"And?"

"It looks like there's hundreds of people gathered up in the valley. It's approximately three days ahead of us."

Naruto was amused when several red robins flew down and landed on his shoulders, drawing a giggle from Flora.

The birds started chirping as they looked at him and Naruto just smiled and carefully ran his forefinger along their heads. They're so adorable! Once he was done the red robins fluttered their wings before taking off once more.

"Then we should head there, yes?" Flora asked.

"Yeah, let's go," where there are hundreds of people then there's civilization. And if there's civilization there is a settlement. Though, he _did_ feel something else, somewhere to their South-East. A single person. That person had yoki, a lot of it, but he figured it was a warrior keeping watch over her region.

Flora smiled, "Okay."

He allowed the nature energy within him to be released back to the environment once more, and after the red pigmentation and toad-like eyes faded away and his eyes went back to normal, the two blonds continued on their path to what hopefully was a settlement in the valley.

Seriously, walking for _three weeks_ with several stops in-between, with little to nothing to do, was not fun. Then there was a puff of smoke, and Flora reacted quickly and without thinking; the clone was dispelled before he could launch a surprise attack on her.

Flora blinked owlishly once she realised her hand was on the grip of her claymore, and that a clone Naruto had made was dispelled before she even realised it. "Hey! What do you know? I'm _actually_ getting better!"

"Indeed, you are," Naruto sniffed overdramatically, "I'm so proud! Now, we just need to increase the difficulty."

"...what?" the sheer deadpan was strong in this one.

Naruto gave her an 'are you serious' look, "What? You didn't think it would end _there_ did you? Just because you took out _one_ clone before he could get a hit on you, doesn't mean you can just slack off. Now I can make it _more_ difficult." the blond rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he tried to think of different ways to test her, "We can take this to the less 'pain' route and have a clone appear in front of you when you least expect it. If you're not fast enough to 'kill him' he'll tap you on the forehead or something."

"No punching?" Flora was damn hopeful the clone wouldn't hit her. Because those punches to the head got old, real fast.

"No punching." Naruto nodded, "Yeah, now that I think on it, having a clone just suddenly appear in front of you and give a simple tap on the forehead can be an effective training routine. The tap could signify your 'death'."

"Well… it's certainly better than getting punched."

"Anything's better than getting punched." then Naruto started laughing, "I had this idea for a training session where I would grope you if mistakes were make, like leaving yourself open or overextending yourself."

Flora blinked at that…unusual training method, and couldn't help but ask. "Why don't you?"

"Because, my dear, that is a very dumb idea." Naruto chuckled. "If I tried it with anyone else, I would get punched in the face for it. Heck, because we're boyfriend and girlfriend now, you might actually start leaving yourself open on purpose, just so you can get groped, seeing as how you tend to milk every little bit of attention you can get outta me."

Flora blushed at that, knowing full well that she was guilty as charged. What can she say? She liked getting his attention. She chuckled sheepishly, "Good point."

Naruto slipped on up and gave her a peck on the cheek, before leading her towards the nearby cluster of people. "C'mon, let's get going. If we hurry, we'll be halfway there by sundown and have plenty of time for some more loving, before we start moving again~!"

Flora perked up, she was _definitely_ looking forward to that.


	7. Chapter 7

The Eastern Quadrant of 'this world', is named Sutare. A region that was dominated by desert wastelands, with some forested areas here and there. In this region, deep within the bowels of Staff, a fortified city along the Eastern Coast that was built into the mountains themselves, Rimuto addressed a man named Rubel, a smug smiling bald man in black, sporting a fedora and sunglasses that gave him a sinister appearance.

"So, what can you tell me about this Youma Hunter?" Rimuto asked.

"About as much as I already have, unfortunately," the man sighed. "He's about as elusive as they say he is; the fact that Windcutter Flora managed to catch up to him is nothing short of a miracle."

"She has a particular expertise in tracking down people we want to find," Roberto, who had just arrived, pointed out to them remindfully with a heavy frown. "I am frankly not surprised that she was able to handle it, though her ability to keep him in one place leaves much to be desired."

Rimuto turned to the man and gave him a stoic look. "Keeping him in one place does not matter. As long as we have one of our own watching him we are bound to discover more about this elusive pest." the man slightly narrowed his eyes to show the ever growing frustration he was having at the lack of intel on this boy. "I trust your charge has found more information about him?" it wasn't a question.

"Yes," Roberto answered, "Though the way she's been getting is deplorable." She's a weapon, a tool, not a seductress. Tools have no uses in that area if he was to be completely honest. "But she got results."

"What has she discovered about him then?" Rubel asked.

"The Youma Hunter, is human. She told me that much when I caught up to them in Lautrec two weeks ago. A week before that, I caught up to her in Wem where she informed me the Youma Hunter is utterly incapable of using yoki but is able to do feats that are beyond human."

Rimuto's expression didn't change. "Such as...?" he asked, his voice showing curiosity. Rubel was intrigued and wasn't afraid to show it.

"The boy is able to accurately pinpoint who is a youma and who is not. As Flora travelled with the boy, he was able to point out how many youmas there were in the vicinity, where they are and even minute details on their positions. The boy has not elaborated on how he is able to achieve this to Flora. She even claimed to have seen him effortlessly dispatch a few that had tried to ambush him before she managed to catch up to him."

"You're sure _no_ yoki was being used?" Rubel asked, probingly.

"Positive." the man answered stiffly. "Flora has been tracking him for weeks, and even talked to people who saw him facing of youma. They never saw his eyes change when youmas are in the vicinity. He fought them by himself with no outside help. The boy is completely human,"

"Intriguing…" Rubel had to admit the more he heard about this Youma Hunter the more interesting he became.

"What else did she find out?" Rimuto asked.

"The Youma Hunter uses small, easily concealed weapons. Fitting for an assassin." the man answered; he took a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing, "He has a pair of custom made knives with knuckle guards, and occasionally uses small shivs as throwing knives, and throws them with great accuracy. He…" he trailed off, Roberto had a feeling what he was going to say next was going to throw the Elder and Rubel in for a loop.

"...go on." Rubel coaxed him to continue, his sunglasses hid his anticipation.

"What can you tell me of his skill level and fighting style?"

Roberto's frown became a little strained. "I am sure Flora was exaggerating, but, she claimed the boy was capable of moving as fast as a single digit, and wiped out a fortified encampment of bandits and outlaws that were harassing the town of Barnet by himself in under a minute."

Rimuto's eyes opened up a slight tinge, "Impossible!"

"Impossible he can move as fast as a Single Digit? Yes. Him being able to wipe out an entire encampment by himself? Not so much." Rubel corrected, "It is entirely possible the Youma Hunter infiltrated the encampment and killed them all."

"Flora deduced he used some types of explosives or ignited something in the camp itself." Roberto said agreeingly, "She also informed me the lacerations on the bandits' remains and the ground where the encampment was once located imply that the blast wasn't used to kill them."

"Fitting I suppose." Rubel chuckled, "The Youma Hunter was said to be an assassin, and uses hit and run tactics to even the odds in his favour." then he looked at Roberto directly and asked, "How did Windcutter Flora achieve this information?"

"Through making use of her seduction skills," Roberto deadpanned. Was that not obvious? "It appears that he sees her as any other person, so she took it upon herself to take advantage of that. As a result, she managed to lure him into a romantic relationship. He won't go anywhere without her, now... though if we ever do manage to confirm that she's to blame for all those bandits disappearing, this may prove troublesome."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Rimuto assured.

"What about the activities we discovered happening in the North? Has it escalated?" Roberto asked.

"It is unknown as of now. As I speak Numbers 7, 12, 16, and 33 are on their way to Alphonse to investigate." the Elder answered.

"It is a simple reconnaissance mission." Rubel stated as he adjusted his fedora. "Eva's ability to keep enemies at bay from a long distance should suffice in keeping them and any information they gather safe until they escape if worse comes to worst."

"And what if worse _does_ come to worst?"

Rimuto had a dispassionate look on his face as he answered. "They die, and depending on how bad the situation is, we either send a small or large response team over there."

If it turned out to be very bad, then they can send all of their problem warriors and thensome over there to quell whatever was happening in the North. If they die, it wouldn't matter in the long run, those women were but tools to be used and discarded whenever they had outlived their usefulness. And they had more than enough trainees to replace them.

"I see." Roberto didn't care for those hybrids. They were less than human in his eyes. No, it would be more accurate to say they weren't human at all. They were just tools, objects to be used and discarded when they are no longer useful and broken.

* * *

Meanwhile in Lautrec, as they continued to walk towards what was hopefully a settlement that Naruto sensed using Sage Mode, a cold shiver ran up Flora's spine, though she knew not why. She frowned, thoroughly unnerved, but shrugged it off.

"Is there something wrong?" Naruto asked, looking concerned. He noticed how unsettled she looked and couldn't help but worry.

Flora smiled appreciatively and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Just a bad feeling that something's going to happen," she admitted with a sigh. "No need to worry... as long as we stay vigilant, of course."

Naruto frowned a bit under his mask, but nodded.

"I have to admit, the valley here is nice. There's plenty to see." The blond said as he took in their surroundings. It was simply breathtaking. There were plenty of places back home that was breathtaking to look at; but this valley, the trees; the mountains; the moss; he felt right at home here. He was reminded of the Hidden Leaf Village, even though this place looked nothing like it. He didn't know why, but Naruto was reminded of home.

"Indeed, there is." Flora agreed wholeheartedly with him. Mucha had greenlands, mountains, and plains, but the woman had never been into a valley before. Until now that is. "It is simply breathtaking."

Naruto smiled under his mask at that, and the two of them continued on their way to the town. They were still three days away from reaching it and Naruto was sure he is close to running out of food by this point.

* * *

 **Three days later**

As they're approaching their destination, Naruto and Flora were having a rather heated discussion.

"I'm telling you, it's a real thing," Naruto insisted, upon seeing Flora's expression.

"I don't believe you," she told him with a look of mild disbelief. "Giant snakes I can believe; giant demons I can also believe; but being able to summon a _god_ from the realm of divinity? _That_ is where I draw the line."

"It totally happened, though! I swear it did!" Naruto insisted once more.

"Okay, if you so insist that it truly happened then I believe, that you believe, it happened."

Naruto threw up his arms; there was no convincing her was there? With an exasperated sigh Naruto decided to drop the conversation right then and there. She couldn't be convinced that his dad summoned a god of death and split Kurama in two. His memories didn't go _that_ far back, so Flora wasn't able to see it.

He wasn't there when Old Man Third summoned the same death god to deal with The First and Second Hokages, so Flora was unable to see that either.

Then again, he had to wonder if he could blame her.

"If and when I get back home and take you with me, I'll just have to show ya," he relented. Then after a moment Naruto _really_ thought about it and was quick to decide against it. He _really_ doesn't want to kill himself. That was one of the prices for summoning the god of death. He would have to be an _idiot_ to even think of doing something like that for no reason. "Actually, no, I'd better not… well, not the technique itself, at least, but proof that it's been used."

"Oh? And how exactly are you going to do that, hmm?" Flora wondered how he was going to do that.

"The instances of when it was used are well-documented, and instructions can be found in a scroll we keep in the village," Naruto replied. "Though getting back is the hard part."

"You _do_ realize 'documents' can be fabricated, right?" Flora pointed out to him rather blandly. "And if you intend for me to read these documents your _city_ has, well... I cannot read." She was more than a little embarrassed to admit that, but Flora had never been taught how. It might be different now that she really thought about it. She did see her 'hubby's' memories, so it's entirely possible she could have learned to read _his_ language from that.

Due to what she is, and how people view those like her, Flora's relationship with Naruto was the first one she ever had. The first she ever experienced for that matter. And being a wandering warrior, and going place to place for her assignments, she did hear the word 'hubby' being thrown around by young and adult couples.

She had no idea what it stood for and thought it was a term of endearment of some kind. Flora was going to be _very_ surprised once she finds out what it actually means...

"Really?" Naruto was very surprised, "I would never have guessed."

"Y-yeah. It's rare for anyone to be able to read." the woman told him with a sheepish smile, "It's even rarer for people to be able to write, for that matter. The likely people you'll find being able to read are those of nobility. Those who are likely to be able to do both are men of the cloth. It is very expensive to learn how to read and write."

"I see… are any hybrids able to read and write?" Naruto asked.

"Write? None that I know of. Reading? Phantom Miria is rumoured to be able to read." she admitted with a shrug. "It is very rare for any warriors in the Organization to read, let alone write."

Naruto slowly nodded. It made sense to him. The memories he got from Flora showed the girls the Organization picked up were living in poverty, were homeless, or were the… _pets_ of the very youma that murdered their family. Also, teaching them such skills wasn't of any 'use' to the handlers, as it wasn't a skill they needed to kill youma.

...Y'know, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to punch one of those handlers in the nose. Hell, many people from back home would tell him they deserved worse, but he preferred to be more merciful than that… for now, anyway.

If they truly were just trying to rid the world of youma, then he couldn't _really_ blame people for getting desperate, given their situation.

"Okay, then." Naruto cocked his head to the side, "Huh… there's a youma ah- no, not a youma. A warrior? The yoki is not as corrupt as a youma's."

"Can you tell how strong she is?" Flora asked. She learned to trust Naruto's sensing by now.

"Pretty strong…?" Naruto sounded unsure. He cocked his head, squinting his eyes, "She's stronger than you, though not by much."

"I see." The woman mused. So, a single digit then. The only ones who would be stronger than her, though not by much in Naruto's words, would be Number 7 Eva, Number 6 Phantom Miria, and Number 5 Rafaela the One-Eyed Warrior.

There was also Number 9 Drillsword Jean, who had her beat in sheer brute force, but was lacking a number of number of qualities, hence her rank. Which one was truly stronger between her and Flora was ultimately quite debatable.

Of course, they would have to get closer for any of them to be confirmed.

"Do you think the other warriors would know about me by now?" Naruto asked.

"Most definitely." Flora was very confident about that. "It's been over a month since I was sent to locate you, and you _have_ built a reputation during the three months before we met. Many of my comrades in arms wanted to see if you really are able to do what the rumours claimed."

"Uh...Huh...I'll keep that in mind, then," Naruto replied with a nod.

"Don't worry; as long as you don't draw attention to yourself, you'll be fine!"

"I _always_ draw attention to myself, though." Naruto pointed out. "Even the way I _look_ without all of this on draws attention." he added gesturing to himself. Then the blond let out an exhausted sigh, "I don't mind finding a place to stay though... my feet are _killing_ me."

Flora smiled and was holding back the urge to laugh at his whining. He sounded like a wounded dog, if she was completely honest. She understood where he was coming from though. They've been on the road for over three weeks by this point, he was bound to have blisters by now. The fact he's not walking funny, either tells her he's got a very high pain tolerance or he hasn't gotten them yet.

"We're just a few hours away now, dear,"

"I know. I just hope that woman I sensed isn't the type to cause trouble, or something. I had enough of that for one lifetime."

"I'm sure she's not." The women that fit Naruto's description were anything but troublemakers, after all. Granted, Eva was just a bit infamous for sticking her nose in others' business and her morbid sense of humour, but that was about it.

* * *

It thankfully didn't take long for them to reach the town and find a place to stay as Naruto plopped on the bed with a heavy, happy sigh.

"Oh, sweet mattress! How I missed you!" Naruto groaned as he kicked off his shoes and allowed his feet to actually breathe. It _felt_ good to get out of those shoes!

Flora found the whole thing to be hilarious. Her boyfriend made a good impression of a slob right about now. A good looking, exotically dressed slob. "You adorable, young man," she giggled.

"Make fun of my misery why don'tcha.."

"Oh, I'll make it up to you," she cooed.

Oh, he knew damn well that she would… that woman had become quite skilled at draining his balls dry over the course of their relationship. But not right now. Right now, all he wanted to do was rest. He _earned_ that!

"Not now, dear, I am _really_ tired," he chuckled; then he leaned his head up to look at her and smiled, "I don't mind cuddling you though."

Flora beamed at that and immediately got to work in shedding her armour. Once she was in her two-piece bodysuit the woman _leapt_ onto the bed like an excited cat, and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.

Naruto chuckled warmly at her enthusiasm and hugged her tight, giving Flora a peck on the cheek in appreciation. If there was one thing he felt was becoming an addiction, it would have to be cuddling with his girlfriend. Flora was much the same way. She just loved getting her cuddles from him. Never in her life had she been so happy as when she became his girlfriend~!

It didn't take long for the couple to drift off a bit and a few hours later, they were well-rested. When they woke up both blonds realized the yoki they felt on their way to the town was now directly underneath their room. She seemed to be waiting for them due to her lack of moving.

"Well… that might be a problem," Naruto muttered.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Flora replied. She got up off the bed and got her sabatons on. "I will go down and see who it is. You, stay here."

Naruto sat up and looked at his girlfriend with a worried frown. "What if she asks about me? If the other hybrids know about me, then it would make sense they know you've been sent to keep an eye on me."

Flora had gotten her sabatons fitted on her feet. "I will come up with something if the situation calls for it, don't worry." She reassured him and turned to look at her boyfriend with a calming smile.

Seeing that, Naruto exhaled and gave his girlfriend a nod and a smile. He'll trust in her ability to sort this out. But if she's in trouble…he'll go down there and bail her out. He will use his 'ninja skills' to shadow her, just in case, though. Flora smiled back at him before she turned and left the room to confront the warrior on the ground floor. Hopefully she's the friendly, non-probing sort. If not, then she'll make due.

If nothing else, Naruto got one out of two, as Flora found herself face-to-face with Phantom Miria - a friendly enough woman, though there were few who probed and prodded around for more information than her.

"Oh, hello, there," Flora greeted, immediately recognizing the woman's personal crest. "What brings you here, Phantom Miria?"

The woman in question had a razor-shad cut hairstyle, with her hair being a pale, sandy brown. She had a feminine, angular face, a noticeable forehead and had a stern, nonsense look about her. She was sitting by herself, next to the staircase Flora had came down from, sipping on a pint of local ale. Despite this town's ale having a reputation for being particularly strong, though, she wasn't feeling the buzz thanks to her youma half filtering it out.

"A certain young man that is known as 'The Youma Hunter'," the woman answered after she set her mug down on the table. "The Organization is _very_ interested in him."

"I know that," Flora said with a roll of her eyes. She didn't need to be reminded of that. Those old guys on the council were trying to find out as much as they could on him. They sent her after him for that reason. "But why are you here specifically?"

Miria sighed and crossed her arms as she regarded Flora with an even look. "I told you: your companion; The Youma Hunter." She leaned forward in her chair and gave the Number 8 a look, "I want to know more about him. Just the basics, nothing too complicated. What's he like? What motivates him?"

Flora quirked an eyebrow at that before pulling up a seat just opposite Miria. "Very well, I don't see any harm in that." she crossed her arms and crossed her leg, while thinking of a way to begin. She decided to get the easiest part out of the way first, "The Youma Hunter - Naruto, that's his real name - is very kind. He's one of the rare kind of humans that doesn't see us hybrids as monsters that should be kept at arm's length, but as living, breathing humans with feelings and treats us like we're ordinary people." she smiled rather fondly at that, something that Miria took note of and filed away for later. "As for what motivates him…" Flora just shrugged. "It's hard to put it into words, but from what I garnered, he's motivated to help people whenever they need it. No ulterior motives or anything else of the sort. He's just very swee- Uh... c-compassionate."

Miria quirked an eyebrow at Flora's slip of the tongue. So the rumours of the Youma Hunter having a 'claymore' lover were true, then? Though a small part of her couldn't help but be a little jealous, the Number 6 pushed it aside. "Compassionate, you say?" Miria smiled. "People like that are sadly becoming a rarity, these days. Quite sad, really, but they tend to be the first ones who get killed."

Flora gave Miria a smug little smile that was unlike her. "Considering he fought off several youmas by himself without help, before I caught up to him? He'll be just fine." Not to mention he's got powers that are completely beyond them. If he wanted to, Naruto could solo everything the Organization sent at him. "Besides, he can move just as fast as we can, despite being incapable of using yoki."

"Very interesting…" Miria muttered thoughtfully.

"Oh, hi Naruto!"

"Hi Flora."

Miria almost jumped right out of her skin when she heard an unfamiliar voice from directly beside her. She snapped her head to her right and Miria grew wide eyed when she saw the very person they were talking about was practically leaning over her! How did he?! _When_ did he get there?! She never heard him come down the stairs and she's practically _next_ to it!

Now that he was here Miria gave him a look over. Dark clothes, a dark red coat with flame-like patterns on the hem. A black facial mask that kept the lower half of his face hidden, and wore a piece of cloth tied to his forehead that had a horned metal plate with some strange writing engraved onto it.

He sounded young too. Around his 16th cycle if she had to guess.

Naruto took in her features as well before turning his attention to his girlfriend. "So, who's the beautiful brunette? Someone you know?"

Despite retaining her composure, Miria felt her cheeks burn at that. "I am Number 6, Miria," she answered, introducing herself with a friendly smile.

"I am pleased to meet you, Miria. I'm Naruto, as you no doubt learned from my girlfriend over there." he said, nodding his head towards the now flushed and lovingly-smiling Flora. "So, what brings you here?"

"You apparently," The still smiling Flora answered with a shrug. "It seems the infamous 'Youma Hunter' is drawing all sorts of attention. The Organization is very keen on finding out as much as they can about you."

Suddenly Naruto was beside Flora making Miria look between where he is now and at the spot the blond previously was. He was just _there_. She didn't see him move! Miria now realised Flora was not fibbing, Naruto really _could_ move as fast as them.

Hell, that was _faster_ than she'd ever seen one of them move!

"It's not my fault trouble follows me wherever I go. But I can understand why." The masked blond said with a shrug. "I'm just _that_ awesome." Naruto was joking on that last part. He wasn't so condescending as to think he's god's gift to Earth. He can however act smug about it though.

Flora easily saw through that and lightly elbowed him on the waist. "No acting smug, you."

Naruto chuckled at that and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Yes, dear," he chirped, drawing a blush and smile from his girlfriend.

Miria gave the two of them odd looks. "You're _really_ …"

"A couple? Yes." Naruto finished and answered her question. "Because of our relationship, I even know you girls have that gash on your front. If I'm completely honest, it's not that bad. I've seen worse."

Miria didn't quite know how to feel about that last bit of information… What could possibly be worse than an unhealable gash that can only be closed by crude stitching?! "Duly noted," she replied uncomfortably.

"No need to look to uncomfortable Number 6," Flora said with a wide smile, "He'll change your world after staying with him~" she teased with a hint of suggestiveness.

Poor Miria promptly turned beet red at that. She knew damn well what Flora was implying.

Naruto did too as he gave his girlfriend a deadpan stare, "You're not trying to pimp me out to other hybrids, are you? I fucked Lucia because you dragged me into it."

"If I recall, _you_ were the one that started flirting with her." Flora shot back with an impish smile. "And then, she was the one dragged into it, after you took my innocence… from behind, like a rabid beast, no less~!"

"I don't remember that!" Naruto was quick to say, prompting Flora to smirk even _more_ impishly than before. He totally did.

Miria, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably. If this kept up, she'd find herself sitting in a damn _lake_ of her own arousal! Like a lot of hybrids, she was rather… neglected in that regard, thus resulting in the poor woman's water works having a bit of a hair trigger. Unfortunately, the conversation only got more awkward from there...


	8. Chapter 8

_WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!_

The sound of flesh _slamming_ into flesh filled Naruto and Flora's room, half-an-hour later, as the strapping young lad pounded a naked and flustered Miria into the bed from behind. The Number 6 wailed pleasurably into a pillow, not quite knowing or caring how exactly she got into this situation in the first place.

After their conversation in the bar started getting a bit awkward, she suggested they take it somewhere private and the three of them relocated to the room that Naruto and Flora had booked. Then, one thing lead to another and now…

Mira wailed as a wave of pleasure wracked her to the very core, her sexual juices gushing all over and coating Naruto's balls as she came hard. Her whole body twitched as she rode out her orgasm.

"Oh-ho, my~!" Flora giggled. "Someone seems to like it more than she was letting on~!" She then crawled on up to her man and growled sexily into his ear. "Go on, keep it up! Show her those delicious sensations that only a man can make her feel~!"

His girlfriend goading him combined with Miria's fluttering walls squeezing his shaft sent him flying over the edge as Naruto let loose a throaty grunt. Miria shuddered at the sensation of his wet heat flooding her loins. It truly _was_ every bit as marvelous as she'd heard! She came again, her body trying desperately to breed with this stud, despite its inability to follow through.

"I blame you for this," Naruto grunted to Flora, taking enjoyment out of the feeling of Miria's inner walls squeezing around him. "Making all those innuendos, and teasing, it all lead to this!" He's seriously beginning to think Flora _was_ trying to pimp him out to other hybrids!

"You didn't seem to mind at the time," his girlfriend giggled an impish giggle. "And you're not complaining about fucking Number 6, here." she pointed out with a cat-like smile.

When the flow of his seed ebbed away, Naruto finally pulled out of Miria, much to the pale-brunette's disappointment and allowed the woman to fall flat on his mattress. That felt _so_ good…

Naruto shrugged as Flora wasn't wrong. He didn't put up much of a protest when it came to fucking the woman. She _was_ attractive looking and he could feel jealousy emitting from her whenever he and Flora flirted and lovingly embraced each other. He was a sucker for tough women, too.

Giggling Flora leaned against her hubby and rested her chin on his shoulder, "So? How was he, Miria?" she asked; the woman was genuinely curious as to what she thought about the deep, rough pounding the blond had given her.

The woman moaned pathetically and slowly rolled onto her side. "Sooo goood…" Miria weakly gurgled with flushed cheeks. That boy was definitely a keeper. She was even _more_ jealous of Flora now!

"I _can_ share him, if you want?" Flora offered.

"Oi!" Naruto looked at his girlfriend with wide eyes and a slightly gaping mouth, "You _are_ pimping me out!" he declared accusingly. He ain't no gigolo, goddamnit!

"I'll gladly pay to have more of him…" Miria dreamily said with a genuine 'I finally got laid and I loved it!' smile.

"No! No no no. I'm not for sale." Hearing the thoughtful hum from his girlfriend, Naruto quickly looked at her with wide eyes. "Flora, I may be a mercenary, but there _are_ things I would never do!" Being used by other women like he was an escort is one of them!

Flora just giggled. "Oh calm down, honey. I would _never_ sell your body for money… you're _mine_." she hugged him possessively, "However, I won't object if my comrades want a piece of you. As you said: we're only human, and we're so neglected…"

There's… 47 of them in total, right? With several trainnes in reserve to replace them if they were to die on the field or Awaken. Yeah, Naruto did _not_ like the implications of that. He's only human, not a miracle worker!

What was next? He gets pimped out to female Awakened Beings?!

* * *

Aaand, of course, one such woman just _happened_ to be hunting the hunter.

Elda the Huntress, former Number 5 of Teresa's Generation, was the woman in question. Mind you, one could argue that she was every number from 1-6 at some point in her career, before awakening, as the One-Horned Monster incident had shaken things up quite a bit, to say the least.

The woman was a shapely one, with wavy, dull-blonde, shoulder-length hair and slightly pointed ears. She was garbed in a dark blue, sleeveless dress with slits running up to the hips and a golden sash, and her eyes were of a light, bluish purple. All-in-all, she was quite the looker.

If she wasn't mistaken, this 'Youma Hunter' was last seen in the town near the border of Toulouse and Mucha. What was it called again… Wem…? Rumor had it that he was also banging a warrior of the current generation. That was interesting; most people wouldn't touch a 'silver-eyed witch' with a ten-foot pole, though there was also the rumor that he was packing what might as well be one. If the claims of this being unable to walk after a good night's rest are to be believed the young man was either well-endowed or had some ungodly stamina.

Well, if he did turn out to be a threat, then maybe she could have some fun with him before devouring his innards? Either way, finding this young man and determining how big of a threat he was to those like her were her first two priorities. The fact that he was not tied to the Organization and didn't have to follow their rules made him quite the wildcard - unpredictable and thus dangerous if left unchecked.

Then, Elda perked up and saw something in the distance. "Oh, hello..." she chirped as a small caravan came into view. That would do wonders in cutting her trip shorter.

Granted, she could fly, but her yoki levels would make the woman a damn beacon for any nearby warriors. It would be best to stay low and travel the old-fashioned way… at least for now.

* * *

The next morning, back with Naruto, the naked young man mumbled incoherently as he woke up, a pair of familiar naked beauties were using his chest as a pillow. Naruto also realized he had his hands on their asses, grabbing a handful of asscheek and he absolutely loved how firm and toned those supple pieces of ass were. He leaned up to look down at his girlfriend and Miria and found the two of them with peaceful smiles on their lips.

He grinned in satisfaction and gave them both a peck on the forehead.

The two mewled cutely and their eyes fluttered. Flora grinned widely, while Miria's expression turned to one of confusion, then shock as she turned beet red and started sputtering incoherently in sheer embarrassment - trying and utterly failing to demand he tell her what happened.

Naruto chuckled at that. "You're so cute~!"

That didn't help, as Miria only blushed harder.

"I'll tell you what happened," Flora started with a cat-like smile, "He _fucked_ us and _fucked_ us good~" she cooed, before leaning up to give her man a loving peck on the cheek.

Now, poor Miria was only more embarrassed but nodded dumbly in understanding. Apparently, he literally fucked her stupid, last night, as it took a while for the memories of that event to come back to her. She started fidgeting, unable to believe what she'd done, but not regretting it for even a second.

"I have to admit, she _is_ rather gifted in the chest area," Naruto admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

Miria averted her gaze shyly but accepted the compliment. Though, _one_ question was prodding at her mind. "What age are you?"

Naruto shrugged, "I'm 15." he answered.

Miria sighed in relief. "Not jailbait, then… that's good."

Flora giggled at that. "Would it really matter if he was? We abide by a very different set of rules than anyone else, y'know."

"You need to let loose every once in a while, you only live once after all. If you keep things bottled up it will only hinder you in the end." Naruto said to the sandy-brunette. As much as the thought would have turned off so many other people, the idea of a much older woman seducing a young man several years their junior was kinda hot.

Huh… that's exactly his relationship with Flora now that he thought about it. That woman is a decade and a half older than he is. So he technically _is_ jailbait if one was to really think about it. He kept that thought to himself though.

Miria blushed again and shyly averted her gaze. Truth be told, she'd love to cut loose, but couldn't as long as the Organization was breathing down her neck.

"Well, that's easy to solve!" Flora said with a chirp and a smile. "You can cut loose with my boyfriend~"

Naruto was tempted to roll his eyes in amused exasperation at that. Then he looked at Miria and saw she was _really_ contemplating on that offer.

He felt his brow twitch.

What did she think he was? An escort?!

* * *

Several miles outside of town.

Sage Mode was useful in a number of ways. While you needed to have an extreme amount of chakra to even use it, the benefits it gave was worth it. It did have its weak points though; one of them being exhausted once the nature chakra is used up. It was good for keeping under the radar, since the unique chakra made the user become 'one' with nature. In essence, it was extremely hard to find - let alone _fight_ \- someone who is actively using Sage Mode.

Only those who were trained in the usage of Sage Mode can detect another Sage.

Of course, the person who was tracking Naruto _was_ a Sage.

"He's not moving."

"Of course not, the lad's been movin' for the past three weeks!"

"He needs ta' rest y'know!"

Correction, the _people_ who were tracking Naruto _are_ Sages. Of course, they were all fused together, and since they were far away all three of them appeared as one person to Naruto's senses when he went into Sage Mode. Had the blond focused a little more on them, he would have noticed the other two.

There was a heavy sigh. "I know that, Boss, Ma'am. Still, I appreciate you two going out of your way to help me."

"It's fine, lad. We're old, but we're not that old ta help out an old summoner!"

"Heh… old…" a piece of metal was brought up, and the man's reflection was seen.

The man looking back had a wart on the left side of his nose and a mane of long and spiky white hair tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. A red line was under his eyes which extended further down his face. His nose was particularly big with gains warts, and as he opened his mouth the reflection showed sharp teeth. He also had a goatee and toad-like eyes. His face was marred by cracks, and the sclera of his eyes was black instead of white. The horned forehead protector he wore had a large crack on it too.

He sighed and put the piece of metal away. "Old… yeah, I suppose I am now."

The Impure World Resurrection. Never in his wildest dreams did he think a failure like himself would be the subject to such a technique. Well, there was no need to dwell on something like this. He'll continue to keep watch on the kid until the time is needed. He's pretty sure the brat knows he's there, but hasn't gone out of his way to find him.

Yet.

Oh boy, he was both dreading and looking forward to seeing Naruto again when the time is right… But until then he will continue to watch from a distance. At least he can keep track of him in Sage Mode, as much as he disliked using it the man had to admit, it was useful in tracking and sensing.

* * *

Back with Naruto, several hours later.

The town he and Flora were in was called Lydd. That was what Naruto had learned from Miria. It was the closest town to the border between Lautrec and Mucha. Apart from that, Naruto and Flora learned another reason why Miria was in Lydd - and it had nothing to do with Naruto.

Apparently, there were two warriors who are on the run. No one knows what happened, but the two had gone missing after they had to do a joint mission. Miria was tight-lipped on the matter but it was pretty obvious to Naruto that she knew them both. And knew more than she was letting on. As much as he wanted to know more, Naruto didn't delve any further into the matter. And as much as he wanted to help out, the blond knew it didn't concern him, so he dropped it then and there.

While Naruto, Flora, and Miria were seated around a table, just lazing around Naruto was asking Miria for the latest events and rumors. Just because he wasn't going to talk about those missing warriors, didn't mean he couldn't ask for any other rumors and the like.

"Have you heard of anything else, lately?" He asked the sandy-brunette.

Miria frowned thoughtfully and shrugged, "There's a rumor that Mount Zakol is haunted. Many people who go near it tend to go missing. Those who manage to return tell tales of hearing the wind carrying the screams of people." she shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I am not one for superstition, but I do know that warriors had gone missing when they delved close to Mount Zakol. I would stay away from there."

That peaked his interest. Mount Zakol, huh?

"I see." Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Since this is the first time I've ever been to Lautrec, where is Mount Zakol from here?" he asked her. He wanted to know exactly where it is, how far of a walk it will be, just in case.

Miria gave him a concerned look for several moments, before taking a breath and answering. "Mount Zakol is located on a mountain, near the city of Hanel. Hanel and Mount Zakol is to the North West of here. It's a three-week journey from here."

"You're not thinking of going there, are you?" Flora asked with genuine worry.

"As I said: it's the first time I've ever been in Lautrec. If Mount Zakol is a place to stay away from, then I want to know where it is, just so I know where to avoid it." He _was_ planning on going there, soon. Hanel, not Zakol.

"I see," Miria was relieved to hear that. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Yeah, I'm a little interested in rumors. Have you heard of anything interesting happening?"

Miria blinked at that. Rumors, eh? She furrowed her brow in thought and quirked her head to the side. "There _was_ a rumour of some strange activity in Alphonse, the Northern Quadrant to This World. The Organization had sent Numbers 7, 12, 16, and 33 on over to investigate."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Lucia? I thought her mission was to investigate a rumour of a Voracious Eater in Rabona."

"I suppose she was reassigned at the last second?" Miria shrugged. "Though not common, it still happens every now and then." Over the course of her own career, it had happened to Miria five times or so.

"It does happen. I got reassigned quite a few times." Flora said though that was for many, _many_ different reasons. Those bandits were there by sheer coincidence! No one was able to prove it was her that murdered them! And besides, they were torn apart by youma, and most _definitely_ not her.

"Being a mercenary for hire, there were times when I was reassigned to do something else entirely." Naruto sighed with a shake of his head. He believed the women. He sighed again, "So Mount Zakol to the North West has people going missing, and there's a team heading to Alphonse because of some strange activity there." Naruto looked at Miria and said, "You'd better prepare yourself. There's a _very_ good chance something big is happening in Alphonse and you might find yourself reassigned to go there."

"Surely you're joking?"

Naruto shook his head negatively, "Unfortunately, I'm not. With those _Voracious Eaters_ , you have to fight along with the common youma, there's a very good chance something big is happening in the North."

"Naruto knows what the Voracious Eaters really are, by the way, Miria," Flora told the woman. "He even knows what will happen to us once we reach our limit as well."

Miria was visibly surprised to hear that, looking at Naruto with her eyes wide in shock. He knew and… and still did those things with her, last night? Miria cleared her throat and regained her composure. "Quite the man you've found, there, then," she said, addressing her colleague with a smile. "I'm admittedly jealous."

Flora giggled happily at that. If there's one thing she's happy about, it's that _she_ managed to get her hands on him first. While trying to not look embarrassed Naruto cleared his throat. It didn't work since Flora just giggled at him and gave her man a peck on the cheek.

"I'm still up for sharing him~"

"I'm _not..._ a boytoy!" Naruto stressed.

"I know," Flora giggled. "You're my hubby~!"

Miria and Naruto blinked at that. Though only Naruto knew what that meant. "Um… Flora… I'm not a hubby."

Flora looked at him confused. "What do you mean? We're boyfriend and girlfriend, right? So, that makes you my hubby, right?"

"N-No… Flora, hubby is an abbreviation of husband," he clarified, blushing heavily.

Flora blushed just as heavily at that. "Oh… uh… oops?" She chuckled awkwardly. "Well, I certainly wouldn't mind…" The Number 8 paused and cleared her throat, averting her gaze upon realizing she'd said that out loud, now she felt even more embarrassed!

"I'm sure you wouldn't," he chuckled, pulling her into a one-armed hug. The poor woman only blushed harder, now feeling lightheaded. Luckily only the three of them were around in the tavern right now. Seems everyone liked to stay away from the Silver Eyed Witches whenever they're in town. So, Naruto moved Flora onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "We'll talk about that later~!"

Aaand, with that, she was out like a light.

Naruto chuckled warmly, giving Flora a peck on the cheek. "Poor thing," he said. "Reminds me of a girl back home." He then turned to Miria and asked, "so… who are these missing warriors?"

While it didn't concern him in any way, Naruto figured it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye and ear out for them on the road. And Miria _was_ rather tight-lipped on the matter, still, it wouldn't help to keep an eye out.

"Why do you want to know?" the sandy-brunette asked.

Naruto shrugged. "If I'm going to be on the road, I'd might as well keep an eye out for them. I won't turn them in, but I can let them know they're being looked for."

Miria pursed her lips, thinking long and hard about her answer. She eventually let out a sigh, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt; they're Numbers 4 and 47. Their names are Ophelia and Clare. Ophelia has platinum-blonde hair, in a braided ponytail and pointed ears - she's rather sadistic and is rumoured to have killed humans. Clare has short pale blonde hair," Miria held her hand to the sides of her head to show how short Number 47's hair was, "and travels with a young boy a few years younger than you. The boy was found separated from her, though. No word yet on what happened to him."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully at that before looking at Miria opposite him. "Do you know what their symbols are? Knowing them would help me out on identifying them."

Miria nodded in acknowledgment. "I do. Do you have a quill and paper or me to write on?"

At her question Naruto just gave the woman a flat look, silently telling her 'Do I look like I have those on me?'.

"Oh, right…" Miria said in realization. She felt a bit dumb now. "I'll see if I can borrow them from someone."

"I'm sure you can ask the owner of this establishment," Naruto said, gesturing to the tavern they were in. "He should be around somewhere. And if not… well… there's nothing stopping you from borrowing one."

Miria hummed thoughtfully at that; the kid in front of her was right. There _was_ nothing to stop her from borrowing a quill and paper. "Very true. I will go and see if I can go procure a quill and paper to write the symbols with."

With that Phantom Miria got up from her chair and went to find herself a quill and paper, leaving Naruto and the unconscious Flora by themselves. He needed to do something about their position, now that he thought about it. The warmth of her nice ass against his lap had a fairly predictable effect on him and the angle his joystick found itself in proved… uncomfortable. He needed to get it adjusted less it get any more uncomfortable for him. So that's what he did to the best of his ability, without trying to disrupt his girl.

Flora mumbled cutely before adjusting herself with a mewl, drawing a chuckle from her man.

Then, Miria popped out out of nowhere with a piece of paper in hand. Then she handed it to Naruto, while ignoring the still unconscious Flora who was currently snuggling up against the blond.

"Thank you," Naruto took the paper and looked at the symbols on it. Then he nodded and put it in his trouser pocket.

"What do you plan on doing next?" Miria asked as she took her seat once more. Her question prompted a shrug out of Naruto.

"I don't know. I was just planning on wandering around for a bit. See the sights. Kill any youma I happened to come across." he answered honestly. Naruto had no set destination in mind; he still doesn't, but now he has Flora with him. "I'm going to be staying here for a bit. Walking for three weeks with little breaks in between, just makes me want to lie down somewhere and rest for as long as I can."

Miria perked up at that. "Oh? Does that mean you're staying here for a few days then?"

Naruto shrugged. "Around that amount of time, yes." Three seemed reasonable… "Not sure what I'll do afterward, though; I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"Such a lovely wedding," Flora mumbled in her sleep, letting loose a cute giggle. "Oh, Naruto~!"

Both Naruto and Miria turned bright red in an instant upon hearing that. They then looked at each other with the former letting out a sheepish laugh. "Seems she's having a...nice dream?"

"Quite…" Miria muttered.

Well, this got awkward real fast. Though, as he took in Miria's appearance, Naruto realized the woman in front of him was the stuck up type and that she liked to remain in control of herself.

He saw an opportunity to tease her. They were so much fun to tease.

"I see you're looking at Flora with jealousy," Naruto said to the woman with a serious look on his face, "Do you want to sit on my lap as well?" he asked, quirking his head to the side with curiosity.

Poor Miria sputtered incoherently, trying and spectacularly failing to deny it.

Naruto couldn't hold in the hearty chuckle if his life depended on it. He decided to tease her some more.

"If you want...you can go right on ahead and sit on my other leg and snuggle against me. Flora's not going to mind." He told her, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly at the woman. The woman kept sputtering as her face flushed with embarrassment. Then she saw the teasing grin on his face, prompting her to blink owlishly for a moment, before burying her face into her hands with an embarrassed groan.

"Sorry but teasing you is just too easy." he chuckled with a smile. "I will be here for a few days, so, you have plenty of time to get to know me if you want."

"S-sounds like a plan," Miria chirped.

If he's capable of fighting several youma by himself, then maybe it will be a good idea to see how he fairs against a warrior? Yes. That seems like a good idea. Maybe she can rope Flora into it as well...


	9. Chapter 9

Several hours later, Naruto, Flora, and Miria were a fair bit away from Lydd, because Miria wanted to see how he would fair against warriors of their caliber. It was a sparring session if one wanted to get technical. Despite what she's been told by Flora, Miria was fairly confident that she would utterly trounce Naruto. He may have been as fast as a single digit without the use of yoki, but despite that, he was still human.

Naruto stood opposite his girlfriend and Miria. While the former was shown to be calm on the surface, inside she was very excited - and nervous - to spar with her boyfriend. That technique he used to wipe out the bandit encampment over a month ago came to the forefront of her mind. While the woman was confident he would _never_ resort to such a technique in order to win, she couldn't help but feel… nervous… and for good reason.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Naruto asked Miria and Flora as he looked between the two of them. The former was the one who wanted this and Flora was going along with it. If anything it would be considerate of him to ask them what the rules of this spar session was.

Miria pulled her sword out from the slot on her back plate and held it in a middle guard. "The first one to land the first five hits wins."

Flora reached up and held the grip of her claymore but did not pull it out of the slot of her back plate. "I can see to that," she said with an agreeable smile, then the wavy blonde looked to her boyfriend and asked, "what about you?"

Naruto chuckled and took out a couple of shivs, an improvised knife that was made out of wood, a sharp rock, and fabric tying the two together. They looked flimsy, and ridiculous to the two women. Their claymores would cut through them like a hot knife cutting butter. But they didn't plan on underestimating him.

"Sounds like a plan." Naruto grinned, of course, if they were going to leave openings then he was going to take advantage of it. Miria didn't state what _kind_ of hits. "Okay, so, who's going to initiate this engagement?"

Miria did by dashing forward and thrust her claymore at his torso. Naruto spun out of the way and counterattacked with a slash to the arm. Miria deflected it with the metal plate of her gauntlet before she attempted to drive her knee into his stomach. Naruto stopped that by chopping her knee, then pushed her away and jumping back to get some distance between them. He followed that up by throwing several shivs at Miria like they were throwing knives, and she deflected them all with the flat of her sword and they bounced harmlessly off the surface and landed on the floor.

Naruto landed and brandished his trench knives. He blocked a strike from Miria who dashed towards him again and used the other to block Flora's attack when she tried to get the drop on him. Naruto surprised Miria when he forced them both to back off with his own strength.

Then he smiled from under his mask, and his image flickered before vanishing before their eyes. It was only because of Naruto improving Flora's reflexes, and her decade and a half worth of experience on the field, that the wavy blonde was able to react in time. Flora quickly brought her claymore up into a hanging guard, and the sound of metal hitting metal sounded throughout the area as a second later, Naruto appeared in front of her with his trench knives locked with Flora's claymore.

Flora herself was surprised that she managed to do this so fast.

" _My reflexes have improved after all…"_

She had to make sure to thank him. Her survival rate against fast Awakened Beings had just gone up drastically thanks to what he was doing with her for the past three and so weeks.

The boyfriend and girlfriend were in a deadlock. Neither of them was willing to give way. Then Naruto surprised Flora when he abruptly broke the deadlock, only to dodge and weave away from Miria's claymore who tried to hack and slash him. He did it effortlessly, and as he avoided her sword, and deflected it with his trench knife with professional efficiency, Naruto put the other knife back into its holder again. He reinforced his free hand with chakra and almost gave Flora and Miria heart attacks when he caught the sword of the latter with his bare hand. Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the shocked look on the face of the woman in front of him.

Naruto couldn't help but cheekily say. "What? It's like you've never seen someone catch a sword with their bare hand before."

"I…can't really say I have," she muttered. Miria was honestly freaked out by it, though she was doing a hell of a job keeping it hidden. Flora was in the same boat as her too.

"Not many people can," he admitted with a nod. Then he forced Miria back with a shove and clenched and unclenched his fist while he rolled his shoulders. "Still, you're both strong and skilled for someone who's self-taught. If we had this spar if I was a few years younger, you would have been able to beat me fairly easily." And he was being completely honest about that. Out of all of his peers, most of whom who had the backing of a clan, he was the only one who tried to teach himself how to fight because no one would want to bother teaching him. Only Iruka wanted to help, but the damage had already been done.

His makeshift, self-taught training had worked. To a certain point. But then he finally graduated and learned just how bad he was in comparison to other ninjas. Comparing how he used to be to these women, they would have been able to beat the living tar out of his past self.

"You can tell we're self-taught?" Miria asked.

Naruto nodded as he slowly circled around Flora, and Miria who did the same. "Yeah. Before I found a teacher, I was self taught myself. I was more like a brawler when I fought way back then though, and I had less skill. Then I found a good teacher. He was the best teacher I could have ever asked for."

"What happened to him?" The Number 6 asked.

"He was killed by one of his old disciples that turned bad." Miria couldn't hide the wince at the flat, dead tone in his voice. "I defeated him in turn when he came after me." Then Naruto smiled and made a 'come at me' gesture to them. "Come on; we're meant to spar, right?"

The two women nodded before they reengaged Naruto at the same time. Naruto dashed towards them and met the women halfway. He deflected Miria's claymore with his knife just when he got within range of it and took out a shiv to throw at Flora to distract her. The wavy haired woman sliced it in half from top to bottom with a single, powerful chop and kept on going.

Naruto redirected Miria's claymore with his trench knife, before turning to meet Flora's and punched it with the hand protector. Flora let out a startled yelp when she unexpectedly took a step back from the amount of force put in the punch!

Then as she recovered, Naruto saw an opening, and he lashed out with his free hand. Flora let out a gasp when she felt Naruto's hand grope her right breast and she looked at him in surprise. Did he just...?

"Don't let yourself be open." Naruto told her, then he shoved his girlfriend away after squeezing her breast. "That would have been an instant kill."

Her heart was on the right side of her ribcage. If Naruto _had_ been going with the intent to kill and he was armed, Flora would have been stabbed in the heart and would've been killed.

"N-noted," she sputtered, still in mild shock at what had just happened. Flora then took the opportunity to leap back to try again.

Naruto dodged and weaved through her attacks, and used his trench knife to deflect a couple. He took a quick glance to his left when he felt Miria appear beside him, with her sword poised to take his head off. He leaned back and to the side, and grabbed Flora's arm with his free hand when she over extended herself, ducked under Miria's swipe, turned on the heel of his boots and used the momentum to toss Flora with a mighty grunt. Then Naruto turned his attention to Miria who kept going at it and he deflected, and weaved through many of her swipes.

Then the blond saw Miria had left an opening, so he took advantage of it, lashing out below the waistline with his free hand once more.

The woman let out an undignified squawk and nearly jumped out of her skin upon feeling him cup her sex. Understandably, she was pissed and shocked about that.

"An attack to the crotch would've hindered you and lowered your combat efficiency, had I been armed… It would have also hurt like a bitch," Naruto pointed out, lecturing the red-faced woman. "Don't leave openings for attacks like this."

"R-right…" she grumbled, her eyebrow twitching violently. She took his advice to heart, despite her outrage and retreated as well. After taking a deep, calming breath, she tried again.

As she dashed at him, Naruto took a defensive stance and used his trench knife to block and deflect her strikes; he was impressed, she was pushing him back while he dodged and wove around her blows and even got a few blows in with his free hand when he saw an opening to do so, though most of them only grazed her. All-in-all, her defense was pretty damn solid, now as she kept a good eye on him, preventing Naruto from doing much initially.

But what was Flora doing?

"HAAAAAAAA!" the woman in question let out a battlecry as she dashed at him when he was completely preoccupied with Miria.

Oh, there she is! And Naruto promptly backflipped away from Miria, just as Flora came in with her sword hitting the ground where he was standing. Naruto punished Flora by driving his foot into her side, sending her stumbling into Miria.

"If you didn't cry out like that, I wouldn't have noticed you until it was too late." Naruto lectured his girlfriend with a disappointed shake of his head. Then he smiled, as the two women faced him in preparation, "Still, attacking me while I was distracted by Miria was a good idea."

"I was trying to draw your attention to me so she could get a good swing in, too," Flora pointed out.

That… actually made a lot of sense, given the situation.

"Not a bad plan, I'll admit; but not all opponents will fall for that trick."

"You're one of those who wouldn't, clearly," Flora giggled. "I know that now."

A couple of years ago, he would have fallen for it like a bird to a worm. But, he was a hell of a lot smarter now. However, he can still be tricked. He's not arrogant enough to say he won't fall for them anymore. If Flora happened to flash her tits at him for example, you can be _damn_ sure he would be distracted long enough for Miria to take advantage of it!

Naruto shrugged with a nonchalant smile. "There are some tricks I can be distracted by. I'm not telling you what though. That would be dumb."

"I see," Miria muttered thoughtfully.

Naruto chuckled nervously, seeing the wheels in her head starting to turn. This woman was Shikamaru with tits, wasn't she? He'd better keep an eye on her if that was the case. If she was, then she would be _hell_ to fight once she gets a strategy going.

And he looked forward to that…

Naruto smiled brightly upon seeing Miria pull Flora aside and whisper into her ear, knowing that woman had quite the evil scheme in mind. Though deep down the blond was worried about what this potential scheme to defeat him could be about. Knowing Flora, she would go along with what Miria's got planned if it has a high chance of succeeding.

"All is fair in love and war," Flora giggled.

Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit. He both liked sound of that and... didn't. This was going to get interesting, to say the least. Still he got himself ready to intercept them once they made their love.

The women wasted no time as they drew their claymores and then charged right at him, attempting a pincer move. The attempt was pretty simple: Flora came at him from the left, Miria following close behind before using her afterimage technique to circle around and come at him from the right. It was an impressive feint, but his reflexes were a bit too sharp for it work. Still, he was struggling to keep them both off or him, dividing his attention between the two of them. Then, Flora leaned forward and licked his cheek.

At the feel of her tongue dragging itself up his cheek a surprised Naruto froze at the unexpectedness of it. Then, she pressed on with a giggle as he staggered to deflect the blows that came his way. "When I get you on the ground, I'm going to make you stick your _sword_ in my _sheathe_ and ride you like a pony~!"

Naruto choked on his own spit and almost failed to deflect Miria's attacks in time. He was distracted by Flora's words and that slightly impaired his reaction time. Then, as she staggered back, the sandy brunette disappeared from his field of vision and he felt an arm around his torso. The next thing Naruto knew, his feet were in the air and everything went blue as he was hoisted onto his ass with a roar of exertion from Miria.

"Nigh!" Naruto felt his grip on his trench knife go as Flora appeared and knocked it out of his hand. As it skid across the ground he quickly reached for his other trench knife, only to pause when he felt the sharp end of Miria's sword pressed against his neck.

"Yield."

"Yes, ma'am," Naruto chuckled nervously. He let out a sigh of relief when the woman took her sword away. "I take it having Flora distract me was your plan?"

"Indeed it was," Miria replied with a giggle. It wasn't often that she felt proud of herself, but this was one such case. "It seemed like the most logical way to go about it, after all; Flora's perfectly willing to act rather… crude towards you, not that I can blame her, so having her try that out to distract you while I got around to pin you down seemed like a fairly solid backup plan."

"I take it your first plan was to see if I fell for that initial feint?" Naruto smiled up at her, thoroughly impressed.

"Indeed it was," Miria confirmed.

"And if neither worked?"

"We'd retreat and I'd try distracting you with my afterimage technique while Flora and I tried approaching you from different angles. I have a limit to how many times I can use it, though, so that was a last resort. If it didn't work, I would have surrendered; I know when I'm beat."

He smiled up at her even more at that.

While she was happy that they won, Flora knew better. If Naruto really wanted to, he could've beaten her and Miria in a matter of seconds. He is a determinator and would keep getting back up no matter how many times he's been pushed down. If he wanted too he could have gotten away from Miria despite of her holding the edge of her sword to his neck.

The guts not give up and pain are what he inherited from his teacher and sibling student, after all.

Still smiling Naruto got up on his feet with a grunt, and as Miria and Flora put their swords back in the slots of their backplates, he went to collect his trench knife and the other makeshift shivs that weren't made useless. Then he went back to them after he collected his stuff.

"Shall we head back to Lydd and rest?" Flora asked, looking to her boyfriend and Miria questioningly.

"I don't see why not." Naruto shrugged with an easy-going smile. Miria shrugged and gave no objections. With that, the three of them went back to the town. "You're a pretty good planner, Miria. I wonder what would prevail in a prolonged spar: your strategy, or mine?"

"Oh?" That peaked Miria's interest. "You make strategies too?"

"Not in the way you do. I make mine up on the fly, when I'm in the middle of fighting." He clarified, and seeing the disbelieving look on Miria's face he just shrugged. "It's worked well for me since I first became a mercenary."

"And when did you become a...mercenary?" Miria asked him with narrow eyes.

"Two years ago when I was 13." At the surprised look on Miria's face, Naruto just shrugged again and grinned rather carefreely. "To be fair I was trained to fight, and kill, ever since I was a little kid. I started my training when I was 7."

He was a mercenary for longer than that actually. But for reasons unknown to him, Naruto had found his body had regressed a few years in age. He wasn't complaining though.

"I...I see…" Miria trailed off. So, not only is the Youma Hunter capable of moving as fast as warriors, he is also a child soldier… she didn't know why she found that to be disturbing, she too is a child soldier - she was trained from a very young age to kill youma and Awakened Beings after all - but it didn't seem right.

He's a good enough sort to hang around though.

Though, from the way he acted, Naruto reminded Miria a little bit of Number 22, Helen. She shuddered inwardly. The day those two meet will be the day hell freezes over. She could feel it in her bones.

* * *

One hour later…

Naruto snuck out of the tavern he, Miria, and Flora were staying in while they were busy talking to one another. They never noticed he had left the premises, such was his stealth. He walked to a nearby alley and after taking a quick look around to make sure no one was around, he made a single Shadow Clone.

"Head to the North. Something tells me this 'activity' over in Alphonse is more than meets the eye." Naruto told his copy.

"On it, Boss!" The clone saluted his creator before turning on his heel and bolting off. With chakra enhanced running, the clone would get there in a matter of days. And since Mount Zakol is to the North West of Lydd, the clone just had to venture North.

The original Naruto watched on and only turned around to head back to the tavern the Single Digits were in when he could no longer spot his clone. He had an idea on where to go next: Mount Zakol. If people are going missing there, claymores included, then it needed investigating. It was probably a former digit warrior that was responsible.

He'll head over there with Flora tomorrow morning.

* * *

 **One day later…**

The very next day, Naruto and Flora ventured forth, hand in hand, as they headed North West to Mount Zakol. From the bedroom she shared with the two Miria limped on up to the window to see them leaving town. A blush and smile on her face, she sighed happily at the memories of what Naruto did to say goodbye. Oh, that woman of his was so lucky!

When she saw him look up and wave her goodbye, Miria blew him a kiss, before heading back to her bed. She needed to recuperate for now, and then she'll be back on the road, herself, heading North to check up on Eva's status after dealing with a youma infestation she'd been the way.

This was going to be a busy week for her, but Miria didn't mind nearly as much, thanks to that stud…

* * *

Speaking of Eva, though…. The woman had a grim expression on her face as her team showed up. Her silver eyes counted them… and found they were still a person short. They won't be able to do much until she gets there, and the youki she sensed was getting closer.

It had to be a former single-digit… possibly of the Lost Generation, if its sheer potency was anything to go by. Still, she had a good team for the job. If nothing else, that was a reason to be cautiously optimistic...

"We're a person short." one of the women said as she looked around for their last member.

"Not a surprise," Eva muttered. "I was informed that Number 12 might be late, given that she was pulled from a mission to Rabona at the last second. We'll wait one more day."

"No need," Eva and the other two women perked up a bit when they heard the woman in question speak up. They looked in the direction the voice came from and found Lucia walking up to them. "because I'm already here." she had a frown pulling at her lips. "That's a lot of yoki I'm sensing… Do we know the cause?"

"A possible Single Digit from the Lost Generation," Eva answered with a sigh. "Hard to tell from this distance. We're not here to engage, just to scout. Once we confirmed exactly what it is, we are to disengage and report back to the Organization with our findings. But first, let's get introductions out of the way; I am Eva, Number 7, better known as Eva Longblade, I'm sure."

The woman in question had long, layered, light blonde hair with short bangs bordering her hairline. The length, meanwhile reached halfway down her back. She has a modest bust, and a toned, athletic physique and child-bearing hips.

"I'm Lucia, Number 12." She looked nervous and was clearly the youngest one here, despite her mature physique.

"I am Kate, Number 16." The woman who spoke was rather strong-looking, having a rather muscular physique. Her long, silver hair was parted in the side and pulled back into a low-hanging ponytail. She has a rather small bosom, big enough to fit in a palm accompanied by wide, flaring hips much like Lucia's.

"M-my name is Mila, Number 33," the last one said shyly. She was a rather timid, little thing, only a few inches taller than Lucia. Her hair was a messy, long mop of gold, sticking up all over the place. Her bust was rather modest and her build was a slender, willowy one. She had soft features and large, round eyes that made her appear rather doll-like.

Eva nodded as everyone introduced themselves one by one.

"Now that is out of the way, does anyone have any questions?" The Number 7 asked.

"Yes. Is it possible if we were to have a rest first before going out to see what this thing is? Many of us have been walking here for days on end, and it would help immensely if we all well rested." Lucia asked; it was a legitimate concern she had personally. She's been moving constantly to Alphonse with no break and was fairly close to dropping dead right then and there. She took an hours break before reaching here to be perfectly honest and the woman still felt like her knees were about to give out from under her!

"So I've heard..." Eva sighed. "We can rest for a few hours, but we don't have long before… whatever _that_ is gets too close to the town."

Lucia sighed as well. It was better than nothing, at least.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in Wem...**

Elda leaned down with her hands on her knees as she smiled at the little boy before her. "Thank you for the information," she chirped, before heading to that inn he'd mentioned. Apparently, the Youma Hunter had left Wem a while ago. He was staying in a rather nice tavern and had… she simply couldn't believe what the boy had told her.

Granted, he was still far too young and innocent to know what the implications were, having told Elda that her quarry kept waking people up by 'making the silver-eyed ladies grunt and moan' all night.

This Youma Hunter… he was actually _mating_ with the warriors?! Sure, she'd heard that he was in a romantic relationship with one, but that was still quite the surprise. She'd ask around some more before moving on. Even if he _was_ traveling at about the same speed as a hybrid, this young man couldn't have gone too far. She'd catch up to him eventually…

Yes… she would catch up to him and his little claymore pet eventually and deal with them both accordingly.


	10. Chapter 10

**One week later**

The City of Hanel was a settlement that had a lot of shrubbery and forestry around it. As a local trade hub, the city had a notably large inn, a statue of the Twin Goddesses of Love in the centre, a blacksmith, warehouse, woodcutter, stores, a marketplace and plenty of other places of interest. It would be a nice place to settle down if it wasn't so close to a so called 'haunted mountain' that people would venture close to, only to never return.

As he and Flora entered the city, Naruto could sense a couple of yoki signatures. None of them were in the city itself as they were in Mount Zakol nearby. A few of them were pretty strong too. One was as strong as his girlfriend, and the other three were a lot stronger than her.

Not only that but there was some sort of commotion. A quick look around showed that the people were spooked. Many of them looked like they had seen something incredibly disturbing and nightmarish. It was clear to him that something had happened here.

Then they saw him and Flora, and the civilians looked even more wary. Some looked hopeful even.

"Flora," his girlfriend perked up a bit at being addressed, "should we find out what's going on?"

"Yes." she replied with a nod of agreement. Then the woman looked towards Mount Zakol with a small frown. "Do you know what's going on in Mount Zakol?"

Naruto tilt his head with narrow eyed concentration. "Three are claymores… One's stronger than you. And the other two are weaker, though one of them is exceptionally so. The other two would be... Voracious Eaters. Their yoki is corrupt, and they're stronger than you and the other three claymores, combined." He answered in a low tone as possible for only Flora to hear.

The Number 8 frowned at that. "By how much?" She asked, matching the pitch and tone of her voice to his so no one would panic. Still, he could see the worry in her eyes.

"By a lot." Naruto answered. It's nothing he can't handle, but if they're tougher than expected then he would have to use Sage Mode. Or show some of his techniques just to get an edge over them. Which would mean the Organization would know more about him if those girls in Mount Zakol were to blab what they saw him to do to their Handlers.

"I see…" If Flora was worried about what she was just told, she didn't show it. Her eyes merely narrowed with determination. "Come on, let's go find someone to talk too...maybe they can tell us what happened here that put them on edge."

Whatever it was, it had something to do with Mount Zakol.

* * *

Several minutes later…

"Thank you for your time." Naruto told a middle aged man with an eye smile. The man in question gave the teenager a nod in return and went back to what he was doing. With a sigh the blond looked at Flora and found her talking to a small group of people. A few of them were rather animated in their gestures; they were a few years younger than he was. So them being animated in their gestures was understandable.

It didn't take long for Flora to finish her round of asking questions and the couple regrouped to tell each other what they had learned.

"Well…" Naruto began with a heavy sigh, "I learned that a team of claymores came by not too long ago and went to Mount Zakol. One of them came back grievously wounded a few hours ago, and begged for a claymore in disguise to save her team before dying of her wounds."

"I learned the same thing." Flora said with a heavy sigh of her own. "From a brief description I was able to get of the team that came by here, one of them was Drillsword Jean. She's a rank lower than myself. The disguised warrior left to save Jean's team a few hours ago."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully with a heavy frown. Seeing that look in his eyes Flora knew what he was going to do. He was going on a rescue mission.

"Naruto…"

"Flora," He gave her a look that made whatever she was going to say to not leave her tongue. "I'm going over there."

If he could make a difference, you can be damn sure he was going to try and make that difference. Whatever was happening to those girls right now is very likely to be something he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. And he had a lot of enemies before they became his friends.

Flora was both proud of her man and worried sick for him in that moment. It warmed her heart that he felt that way and wanted to help, but at the same time… "But… what if it's one of the…" Flora hesitated, looking around to see if anyone was listening. "W-what if it's Riful and her consort? This is their territory and they are among the very few Voracious Eaters to have grouped up. They're so dangerous that we are literally disallowed to engage them until the Organization finds a way to kill them!"

"If it is them… well… I never said _you_ had to fight them did I?"

He's fought worse than them. A lot worse. Then again, that's not much when being compared to fighting someone who was known as a goddess back when she was around. Granted, these two could be a legit threat if they're clever enough, so he would be a fool not to be careful about it.

"At most I'll be distracting them until _you're_ able to extract the survivors." He looked towards the mountain and frowned. Naruto looked at Flora, "Come on. The longer we stay here, the less chances those girls have of surviving."

"A-alright…" Flora sighed, still nervous as all hell. But, she would die before letting her boyfriend go it alone.

Naruto put his hand on her forearm and gave it a comforting squeeze. Then he beckoned his girlfriend to follow him before he made a quick dash out of Hanel and towards Mount Zakol. Flora was quick to follow after him. One way or another, they were going to find a way to save those girls.

* * *

As they ventured into Mount Zakol, with Naruto tracking down the yoki signatures both he and Flora came to an abandoned, near ruined castle that was built into a mountain. But from the yoki the two of them sensed as they got closer, the castle wasn't abandoned anymore. The path to the castle was pretty straight forward. There were no traps, no lookouts, there was nothing that would give away their approach. It was too easy. Far too easy if Naruto was honest.

Did their little friend clear the path for them? There were quite a few butchered youma corpses, after all, including two of those rare flying types. All of them were fresh, too, making it clear that their undercover friend was the one who'd done it. Given how weak she was in comparison to Flora, it was an impressive feat.

Passing by the youma and approaching the entrance, Naruto and Flora both paused.

"...that is a lot of rods…" Naruto said in astonishment and Flora slowly nodded agreeingly. There had to be at least a hundred of them fixed in the ground, on the walls, on the damn ceiling.

"...I can sense yoki coming from them." Flora said after a moment of concentration.

Naruto walked inside the hallway and found they reached to his waist, though he couldn't be too sure of that since they were deeply dug into the ground, walls, and the ceiling so they were probably longer than he thought.

Naruto stopped beside one of them and slowly put his hand on it. He frowned; it felt...weird. It was organic but the rod had a metallic feel to it at the same time. He took his hand off it after a moment and looked at it and then his hand, then back at the rod again with a deep frown of contemplation. He had no idea what these things were for, but he _did_ feel the yoki contained within… reacting to him?

What were the chances that these rods were like an alarm system? He wouldn't dismiss the idea, but so far, he's got nothing to base that on.

"Flora, stay close to me. These rods could be like an alarm to whatever made it." he warned his girlfriend.

"What?! What makes you so sure?" Flora nevertheless did as she was told and stayed close to her boyfriend.

"I felt the yoki contained in one of them react to my touch. And if one reacted-"

"-then they all reacted." Flora finished for him with a heavy frown. She reached up to grab the grip of her sword in preparation for their inevitable encounter with the Awakened Beings.

Just then there was a loud crash followed by a rumble, as a massive dust cloud flooded the hall from further down. Naruto quickly steadied himself and Flora as the ground shook momentarily. Whatever was happening it must be pretty big.

"What was that?" Flora couldn't help but ask that aloud. It was a rhetorical question.

Nevertheless Naruto answered her.

"I think… a part of the castle caved in." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Gimme a moment honey." Then his brow creased in concentration.

"What are you doing?"

"...Seeing what the hell's going on ahead." he answered. After a brief moment of tense silence Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled. "It seems two of the five signatures are fighting. One's stronger than the other, and the weaker one is putting up a hell of a fight; though from the feels of it, her yoki's slowly getting overwhelmed. The other three are doing jack squat from what I can sense… though one of them is stronger than the rest. The other two are in a different part of the castle and are doing… something?"

It was hard to tell with the rods jamming his senses, but that's what he could make out from here. He could barely even sense those other three at the moment. He could sense the first two just fine because they were actually using yoki. That other two in a different part of the castle were using yoki as well but it was for suppressing? Yes. That's what he felt.

There was more tremors coming from up ahead. Naruto looked at his girlfriend, shrugged, and quietly headed further into the hallway. Flora frowned and followed him. She didn't want to be here, but at the same time, she was not going to let her boyfriend venture here alone. Not with the possibility of this being Riful and her consort.

Moments later, the couple reached a pile of rubble. They came to a stop in front of it and Naruto went and pressed his hand against it. This was probably where the cave-in happened.

"What now?"

At that question, Naruto looked to Flora with a grin. "Now, we forgo stealth. Once I get the other two focused on me, you sneak around and head to the other yoki signatures deeper into the castle. Understand?"

Flora was concerned, as had every right to be as his girlfriend, but she nodded in acknowledgement to show she did understand. He smiled widely at her before dropping his smile while bringing his gaze to the rubble in front of them.

He formed a Rasengan in one hand and eyeballed the rubble before him. Beside him a gaping and wide eyed Flora stared at the spiralling sphere in his palm. Then Naruto reared his arm back and drove it against the rubble.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side, three people - though one of them looked too monstrous to be considered human - had no idea what hit them when the rubble blocking the exit suddenly exploded outwards. Tons of dirt and rubble was launched from the makeshift wall and across the room, several hitting a large, metallic-like humanoid, who was so tall he had to crouch just so he wouldn't break the ceiling.

"Oh, my!" A little girl with brown hair and honey coloured eyes perked up at the sight. She was very curious, now… these new arrivals clearly had some oomph to them. Perhaps she could make them her friends, too?

The girl in question looked to be about fourteen or so, with a heart-shaped face and garbed in a pink sundress. The glint in her eye made it clear that the wheels in her head were turning as she paid particularly close attention to the blast site, eagerly awaiting to see what emerged.

She was particularly interested and pleased to note that a young man fitting the description of this so-called Youma Hunter emerged from the dust cloud with his eyes closed as it started to clear. Following in with him was a warrior, just a bit stronger than her plaything in the lower levels of this hideout.

Then as his eyes opened the blond came to a stop and looked up at her consort. He looked...less than impressed. As if the young man had seen something more scary than him.

Intriguing.

Naruto saw that the guy was big, he was ugly, and looked to be encased in some kind of carapace-like armour. He was a humanoid, but was hunched over in a semi-quadrupedal stance and was apparently missing a hand.

Then he looked down to see a long-haired blonde was pinned to the ground, impaled by one of the blue guy's rods. She was alive as well, and is currently looking at him and Flora, but mostly him, with wide eyes.

Then Naruto looked up at tall and ugly and just stared at him utterly bored. "Hmm… Well...I've seen a lot of scary and disturbing things in my lifetime… you're uglier, I'll give you that, but nowhere near being even close to them." he snarked provokingly.

The big guy growled at him and was about to attack, but the girl stopped him in his tracks.

"Dauf," she called out. "He's trying to provoke you into doing something stupid. Don't fall for it."

"He'll do something stupid either way," Naruto said as he looked at the girl with an eye smile, before turning his attention back to Dauf. "From the looks of it, you're the dumb muscle. The cute Awakened Being sitting all the way over there seems to be the brains." Said awakened being raised an eyebrow at that, surprised that he knew what she is. Then Naruto held his hands and gave the ugly monster an exaggerated pout that was shown through his face mask. "What's the matter? Were you dropped on your head too much as a widdle baby? From the way you look that does seem to be the case."

Flora, meanwhile, was trembling utterly paralyzed in fear at the sight of the girl in the corner. There was no doubt about it, this sweet, innocent-looking girl was indeed Riful of the West. Mustering up every last ounce of willpower that she could, the Number 8 placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

He looked to her and was surprised to see the utter terror in his girlfriend's eyes. Naruto frowned a bit in concern - not for himself, but for her. The poor thing was white as a sheet and looking about ready to piss herself.

"Again, you're not going to fight him," Naruto reassured his girlfriend. Then he closed his eyes and added, "I am. And if he tries to hurt you, well…" he looked towards Dauf and opened his eyes glaring at him. "Someone big and stupid is going to be in for a Bad Time."

He perked up and hopped out of the way as what looked like a ribbon shot forth from out of the stone floor and tried to snatch his ankle. "And a certain Abyssal One will be sharing it with tall, dumb, and ugly if she doesn't stop what she's doing." The ribbon withdrew immediately.

"Just testing to see if you live up to the hype," Riful chirped, her expression is that of an eerily friendly grin. Flora whimpered like a frightened puppy, having not even seen her move or detected any yoki spike "I'm impressed. Your reflexes and perception are just marvelous~!"

"Thanks. I spent the past eight years honing it." He told her with a roll of his eyes. He rubbed Flora's back comfortingly and continued. "I wonder if the dumb muscle here will force me to show _more_ of what I can do. I wouldn't bet on it though, he doesn't seem smart enough."

He grabbed Flora's shoulder and vanished from sight, just as a massive fist slammed into the ground and shattering the floor where they once stood.

"Congratulations! You hit the ground with little to no effort. Your mama must be so proud of you!"

"Oh, what a delightful surprise~!" Riful giggled, looking up to see that Naruto was standing on the wall, his girlfriend scooped up in a bridal carry. His feet were somehow stuck to the wall behind him as he outright _defied gravity_ before her very eyes.

One could practically see the question mark over Dauf's head, as he looked at the two in befuddlement. "Hey! How'd you do that?"

"Do you seriously expect me to tell you that, idiot?" He deadpanned, "No, don't answer that. Something tells me you are expecting me to tell you about it."

Then Naruto dropped to the floor and set Flora down on her feet… and they were conveniently in front of a doorway that led to the other two yoki signatures. Naruto may not be the sharpest tool in the shed at times, but he can make any situation go in his favour. Getting the excuse to leap near the entryway to the other claymores was part of his plan all along.

All Flora had to do now was go there. He subtly tapped Flora on her stomach to get her moving before crossing his arms and briefly looking at the other woman. She was still looking at him with wide eyes, though she had a small trail of blood going down her chin. At least she wasn't being focused on.

He'd have to get her the hell out of here as soon as possible. Naruto sighed, hoping this woman was a defensive type. If so, she'd stand a better chance of surviving. He heard footsteps behind him and didn't have to look to see that it belonged to Flora. His girlfriend was going to help those other two so now he could focus on Dauf.

"So, I take it that woman with you is your lover," Riful asked, addressing him. "I'll be glad to leave her alone, then." If nothing else, it would make him more compliant if she didn't mess with what was his. "You wouldn't just so happen to be willing to join my cause, would you? I could use more friends."

Putting the knowledge that she somehow knew Flora is his girlfriend to the back of his head, Naruto looked at her, then looked at the only other claymore in the room, then back at Riful again.

"Oh, her? She came in and started provoking us," Riful explained. "So, I had Dauf deal with her so she wouldn't go causing us any more trouble." The brunette sighed. "Quite the quite the annoying one to pin down with that technique of hers, but we managed."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her. "You're not telling the _whole_ truth."

Then, his image flickered and he was kneeling beside the pinned woman, who was legitimately startled to see him just suddenly appear next to her without the use of yoki. When she jumped, the woman winced in pain, her movements had caused the rod in her to open the wound even more.

"Hmm… that's a nasty wound you got there." Naruto reinforced his hand with chakra and casually reached behind to backhand the large fist Dauf tried to smash him with and sent him stumbling away with a startled cry.

"Oh-ho, my~!"

Naruto bit back a frown, noting that Riful sounded _far_ too interested for his personal comfort. But he ignored her for the moment and gave the woman pinned to the floor what he hoped with a disarming eye smile as he gripped the rod, "This is going to hurt. Bare it, okay? It'll be out before you know it."

"Oi! Who do you think you are!?" Dauf yelled at Naruto right after he righted himself.

"I'm the guy who's barely putting in any effort into kicking your ass." Was the blond's answer; he didn't bother addressing the Awakened Being when he spoke.

"Very impressively, I might add," Riful commented, resting her chin on one hand as she observed. "You truly do live up to your reputation. How about we make a bet?"

"Nah. Usually, all bets end up in my favour. It wouldn't be fair." Then he yanked the rod out of the woman's stomach in one fell swoop, ripping a pained cry from the poor thing. Then he closed his eyes as he pressed his palm against her wound. No one saw his eyes change as he healed her.

"Careful, now," Riful urged. "Though they're more durable than humans, hybrids like her still have their limits." She didn't want him to accidentally break her new toy, after all.

Naruto chuckled as he removed his hand and opened his eyes again. They were normal, and no one saw the transformation. "What are you talking about? She's already healed."

Both women were utterly shocked at that. The woman he healed in question touched the place where her wound was and was shocked to feel skin. The stitching holding her stigma closed was slightly undone, but it's nothing she couldn't handle.

"H-how did you…?" the woman sat up with a groan, unable to take her eyes off of him. Just what was he? To be able to casually backhand Dauf's fist, move as fast as a single digit, to _heal_ her all without the use of yoki? This was no ordinary human.

"I have a certain set of skills. Let's leave it at that." Naruto answered her evasively. Then he stood up and helped the woman to her feet too. "So… your yoki's stronger than Flora's… which means you're a very high single digit warrior."

"Galatea," she replied, coming over her shock somewhat. "I'm God-Eye Galatea, the current Number 3."

"Pleased to meet you, Galatea. I'm Naruto, people call me 'The Youma Hunter'. It's a lame alias in my personal opinion." He reinforced his hand with chakra again and deflected several rods Dauf shot out of his fingers like a machine gun without looking.

Galatea was somewhere between bemused and gobsmacked by what she was witnessing.

Then Naruto looked at Dauf with annoyance, and without stopping his swiping he inhaled deeply before letting out a roar that sent shockwaves through the very air itself. Dauf cried out in shock as the shockwave caused him to lose his footing and he staggered back, the rods still shooting only now they were destroying the room until he was lying flat on his back.

"Stay there." Naruto then frowned under his mask upon feeling eyes on him and looked to see Riful practically salivating from his display. "Aaand don't try anything, yourself!"

She giggled almost hauntingly but complied… for now.

"How _are_ you doing that?" Galatea just had to know! She needed to know!

Naruto clasped his hands together and said, "As I said before: I have a certain set of skills…" he trailed off, seemingly stopping it there, before adding a bit more to it. "...and a lot of it's for killing."

"So you're a warrior?" Riful asked, looking _far_ too interested in him. "An assassin, maybe?"

"Trained assassin. Awakened Being or not, I can kill you and your dumb muscle over there in a hundred and fifty different ways. Less than half of it requires me to be armed."

Riful's grin sent shivers up his spine. "I also noticed that you and your girlfriend are relieving me of my playthings," she chirped. The way she said that made it clear that she was not at all pleased.

"What can I say? I like pissing people off." Then Naruto gave Riful a very dangerous smile from under his mask. "Do you wanna have a Bad Time? Because if you don't let us leave, then you're _really_ not going to like what happens next."

"Oh-ho-ho, my~!" Riful giggled. "It's been so long since someone last had the spine to threaten me~!" She returned the grin with one of her own. "How about we settle this with a spar~?"

"A spar? In a hostage situation like this, I don't spar. I _fight_. And when I fight, I fight to win."

"A fight, then~!" Riful chirped. "One on one. If I win, you swear your loyalty to me," she continued. "I'll even leave your girlfriend out of this. And to sweeten the deal…" she uncrossed her legs and spread them a bit, before crossing them once more in a seductive manner. "If you win… you win _me_ and the girls go free. No fuss~!"

Though Naruto would die before admitting it aloud, the fact that she wasn't wearing anything under that dress made it _so_ tempting to accept her terms on the spot.

"R-Riful…" Dauf looked both hurt and shocked to hear that.

"Quiet, you!" She waved him off, dismissively. "This whole fiasco wouldn't have happened if you didn't let that warrior escape and you know it!" That woman had almost torn herself in half while freeing herself, too! There was no excuse... Besides, it's not like this young man could win against her anyway. It's why she so confidently offered herself.

Naruto blinked. He blinked some more. And he blinked again. Then he looked at Galatea and casually asked, "Has this ever happened before?"

"Only once…" Riful shrugged before Galatea could utter a word. "He lost and eventually got himself killed by the previous Number One." She sighed in disappointment. "He was a former Single-Digit, too… such a waste."

"Naruto, I do not think this to be a wise idea," Galatea warned him. She just had to know what he was getting himself into if he was going to take this offer. "Dauf was a Single-Digit himself, but Riful's a former Number One. She's the strongest of her generation and in a class of her own. If she wanted to, she could kill Dauf in a matter of seconds."

Hearing the grave tone in her voice Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "So I take it Number Ones are a pretty big deal, then?"

"Top of their respective generation," Riful confirmed proudly. "The youngest girl to become a warrior in the history of the Organization and former Number One, Empress Riful of the West, at your service."

"So, you're like a Kage then, but without people or soldiers to lead… Interesting." The young man had a glint in his eye. "You can call me Naruto… and I accept your challenge."


	11. Chapter 11

It was only because of her reflexes that Riful managed to get out of the way in time. Naruto's image had flickered and he vanished, only to reappear and blow a huge chunk of the throne...and the wall behind it away with a punch.

Her eyes went wide in surprise, noting that he had traveled twice as quickly. Then, she… unraveled her dress falling off of a mass of ribbons and flying into Naruto's face to distract him. It was a simple trick and against any other man, it would have been far more effective…

"Over here!"

...but with those words, he flickered away to the center of the room. As he did, the mass of ribbons merged back together in front of him and Riful's nude form stood ready to fight.

"Interesting transformation," Naruto observed. "From the way your yoki felt, that was your true from when you turned into those ribbons."

Riful giggled and was on him like white on rice, bolting forth with several ribbons shooting forth from her hair to try and apprehend his limbs. She was wasting no time at all, wanting to end this quickly.

He flickered away again...

"Too slow…"

...and reappeared beside her, and gave Riful a devastating right hook to the face. This was followed up by a kick to the chest, and a knee to the gut. She rolled with the blows quite well, however, and upon the third impact, he was forced to flicker away as she unraveled herself once more.

He reappeared a fair bit away and gave the Awakened Being a look over. From the way he was looking at her, the Abyssal One noted he didn't see her as a threat. "I wonder how strong you are in your real form."

"Strong enough to single-handedly fell a country," Riful replied, her voice taking on a metallic tinge as she sent no less than a dozen more ribbons after him.

Naruto chuckled as he flickered between them, and with each dodge, he was getting closer and closer to her. They were but a distraction, though, as several more shot up from the ground to try and nab him. The blond narrowly dodged them, and to give himself a bit of an edge he took out his trench knives. Then he channeled his chakra to them, amplifying his blades with wind chakra and increasing its cutting power drastically. As it slashed through the remaining few ribbons still coming at him, he heard a gasp.

It was more out of surprise than actual pain. This young man could cut her?! The amorphous mass of ribbons then morphed into the torso of a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, her eyes in the form of glowing pits of pink while several ribbons formed her hair. The torso appeared to be about twice the size as that of a normal human and the remaining ribbons grew in length. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room for them as they sliced through the castle and sent it tumbling down around them.

* * *

Deeper inside the castle with Flora and the girls she'd been sent to fetch, she was starting to look worried. It had been only a few minutes since she'd found the castle's sallyport and they were about to emerge from it when they felt the yoki spike.

Drillsword Jean, Number 9, was butt-ass naked, and only had a cloak covering her modesty, thanks to the girl who'd found her first. The other girl, was Clare, Number 47. She was the disguised claymore Flora and Naruto heard about from the locals in Hanel. She's also one of the two of runaways that Miria told him to be on a lookout for after that botched mission. Flora was...sleeping at the time he asked Miria that, so she didn't know much about it - only to be on the lookout for that crest.

Then, soon after they emerged from Riful's hideout, Flora cried out as the upper levels collapsed entirely. "N-Naruto!"

* * *

Though Naruto was forced to dodge to keep from getting crushed, Galatea was just fine despite lacking the skills to achieve such a thing, as several-dozen of Riful's extra limbs had scooped her up and lightly placed her down on her feet - one drew an uncomfortable groan from her as it patted her on the head.

"There you go," the Abyssal One cooed. "Terribly sorry for the scare, but it would appear as though I'll have to take this seriously."

"It took me cutting through those ribbons for that to happen?"

"That's the first time it's ever happened, actually," Riful pointed out. "Quite impressive; you now have my _full_ attention~!"

"Oh, really? If you reacted to something basic as sharpening the cutting power of a blade, then I wonder how you'll react to something more advanced?"

Riful immediately shot several more ribbons at him from all angles, not keen on giving him the chance.

Naruto chuckled as he flickered away several times, calling out to her tauntingly, "You're too slow!"

He was several dozen yards away from her by the time he came to a stop. If nothing else, he respected her instincts and skill. Before he fought Pain, she'd probably be capable of beating him in a drawn-out fight. But not now. He has plenty of experience fighting opponents on Pain's level. He wasn't even using Sage Mode against her and he's already keeping himself a step ahead of her. It probably didn't help that he could sense her yoki in her ribbons, so that gave him an advantage and a way to stay one step ahead of her.

He came to a stop and put his knives away again. He stared at Riful in the distance with narrow eyes; so she had the power to fell an entire country, huh? Let's see what that power can do against a Massive Rasengan. Naruto formed a normal sized Rasengan in his hand, then he dashed toward her. Naruto then leaped several feet into the air towards the very surprised Awakened Being who was too astonished to react, and with a battle cry he drew his arm back and threw it out in front of him.

"Raaaaaagh!"

The spiraling sphere in his hand expanded, becoming gigantic in size and pushed the surprised Riful into the ground with force. It ground against her and the ground, crumbling the earth to nothingness and leaving behind a huge crater with the Abyssal One in the middle of it. No one could hear her scream, as it was as if an earthquake was hitting. In both pain and panic, Riful sank into the ground, scattering into dozens of ribbons and got out of the gap in time before it was covered by this strange, but painful technique before reforming a safe distance away from the impact. When she saw that damage done as Naruto canceled the technique before it exploded, she let out a terrified but dejected sigh.

It left a several mile hole in the ground that was several hundred feet deep. That was terrifying. She… she could not win against that. Looking to the blond who'd caused that massive hole, she noted that he wasn't even winded and frowned deeply. If he wasn't a little tired from performing such a devastating technique, it wasn't too far of a fetch to consider he wasn't even trying.

Riful unraveled one last time and reformed before Naruto, on her knees in her human form. Still naked, she then kowtowed before the young man. "You win," Riful said. "I am yours and the girls go free. The other two are just outside, along with your girlfriend. I can direct you to them if you wish."

A deal's a deal, after all. He won fair and square.

"I can sense them just fine," Naruto said with a shrug. Then he looked around for Galatea and saw she wasn't around anymore. She must've left the second Riful was distracted, the poor thing. He could tell even _she_ was terrified of the Abyssal One, despite how well she hid it. She was back with Flora and the other two women, hiding her yoki as best she could. Naruto could also sense Dauf, buried under all that rubble and from how he wasn't moving he was unconscious. "I have to admit, that was kinda fun. It's a good thing I didn't let that technique I used on you explode, though. I would have flattened this entire mountain had I done that."

"Duly noted," Riful replied, thoroughly humbled by the experience. Being literally ground up in such a way… it sent shivers up her spine. And he could do worse! This man was nothing short of terrifying! "So…" she started awkwardly, "that dress was all I had to wear. You... wouldn't happen to have some spare clothes on you?"

"Do I look like I'm carrying clothes?"

"Figured I'd ask," Riful pointed out with a helpless shrug. "I'll manage, then."

Naruto looked to his right and frowned. He can't take her with him because of what she is; the girl is bound to cause him problems down the road. And he had no intention of taking this girl on as a slave or anything either. Not really. He was just buying Flora some time to get the other women out of the castle.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask, if only to properly weigh his options. He looked down at her. "How often do you need to eat?"

"Once a week," Riful replied. "About three humans' worth of guts, if you need to know. If I revert to a younger age, however, I can reduce it to one human per month."

"I see…" That would be too much of a risk. Not to mention he would have many claymores coming after him if the Organization was to find out he defeated Riful and had her following him.

Seeing the look on his face, she frowned. "I can limit it to bandits if you wish," she said. "I've heard all about the rumours revolving around your girlfriend."

Naruto shook his head. "It's still too much of a risk. I'm trying to stay under the radar. If the Organization finds out I beat you, and you follow me, they'll stop at nothing to get their hands on me."

"They likely already know you beat me," Riful pointed out, looking over to a neighboring mountain. Naruto blinked and followed their gaze. "They have someone over there… quite the terrifying creation, too, I must say."

"I see… then, in that case, I'll have to keep myself incognito for the time being. Whatever it is they have over there can't be _too_ difficult to deal with. You say you have the power to fell a country? I fought people who could reshape entire landscapes and create miniature moons. Unless you have someone of that caliber here, they'll be a cakewalk."

"They call us the Abyssal Ones for a reason," Riful pointed out. "We are not only stronger than any warrior they currently have, but we also specialize in hiding from them. I would be glad to assist you in that. I do owe you my loyalty, after all."

Naruto waved her off. "I don't want your loyalty." He wasn't the type of person to have a slave, after all. "And I can hide myself pretty well. Been doing it for several years before the Organization found me."

"A deal's a deal," Riful insisted, giving him a harsh look. "I said that if you won, you'd win me; you won, so you're stuck with me."

Naruto gave her a harsh look of his own. "Do you wanna have a Bad Time?"

"Do _you_ want one for insulting me in such a manner? You accepted my terms and throw me away like trash? Am I naught but garbage to you?!"

"Let me ask you this: how many people have you killed because they were weak? Because they weren't up to your standards? And if you lie, I will know. I _am_ trained to fish out lies after all. I am, as you pointed out earlier: an assassin."

Riful sighed, reigning in her emotions. "I… lost count."

"Alright, then let me rephrase that: how many people have you killed recently for all those reasons?"

The young-looking woman looked him square in the eye and replied, "one." It was true; only that one who'd awakened fit that description; the others all resisted until they died, much to her disappointment, with the exception of that girl who'd escaped.

"Not the full truth… there's more."

"There's only one who fits that exact description," Riful pointed out. "I've been trying to amass an army to combat the King of the North, but only two of those 30 warriors I've captured had actually awakened to be tested, and even then, only one of them was tested."

"And when she failed your test, you threw her away. Had her killed. _Like trash._ Because she was weak. So tell me this: you're _weaker_ than I am. Why should I not kill you for the same reason?"

"Better that than the shame of being tossed aside," she replied. "It was a mercy killing. Had I not ordered Dauf to do it, she would have been killed by someone else. If you didn't want to have me coming with you after winning, you shouldn't have accepted my terms."

With a sigh, Naruto closed his eyes and gathered nature chakra. Riful never noticed the impending danger that was approaching.

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather not take the risk. Having you with me will just bring more trouble than it's worth. And besides, if you _were_ to come with me I'm pretty sure your territory would be taken out from under you." he exhaled deeply and clenched his fist, "This'll be over quick."

Naruto opened his eyes and Riful finally saw the orange pigmentation around his eyes, and his irises were yellow and toad-like. The Abyssal One only had time to widen her eyes in surprise when Naruto _smashed_ his Nature chakra enhanced fist into her forehead. The naked Awakened Being was rocketed off the ground, spinning uncontrollably in midair, before she crashed against a wall, and then fell down to the ground in a heap. The sheer amount of force in the impact had made the wall collapse on top of Riful.

She didn't move.

Naruto didn't like hitting girls, and with exceptions, he avoided killing if he could help it. The Abyssal One of the West wasn't going to budge on the matter, so Naruto took matters into his own hands and knocked her out with a sage chakra enhanced punch. The Abyssal One was more durable than he gave her credit for. She'll wake up with a splitting headache several hours from now but other than that, she's totally fine. Not to mention by the time she wakes back up, he will be long gone.

Naruto spread his senses to find where his girlfriend and the other three were, and after locating them the blond bent his knees and leaped far high into the air like a frog in their direction. It was high time he gets back to his girlfriend and the others. Flora must be worried sick about him!

* * *

Flora was now at her wit's end as she frantically paced back and forth, knowing that her boyfriend was not here yet. She was worried sick for him! To make matters worse, Jean, Clare, and Galatea kept preventing her from heading back to look for him, but even they could only do so much to restrain a hysterical lover as they would have found out had Naruto not finally appeared - dropping out of the sky as if delivered by the gods themselves to avert that potential catastrophe.

Naruto rolled along the ground to fully absorb the impact before getting back to his feet. He looked around before turning to face the hybrids, and they saw the yellow, toad-like irses and the orange pigmentation around his eyes. He let out a yelp and a chuckle as Flora glomped him without hesitation. He could tell the poor thing had been worried sick.

Then Flora pulled away and looked him over for any injuries. "What happened?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt. And as for what happened: I kicked Riful's ass and knocked her out. It was easier than I thought it would be. We'd better put as much distance from this place as possible though, we're being watched right now."

"Alicia," Galatea said ominously. "The current Number One. She's a good distance away, but can sense us quite readily from there."

Naruto looked at Galatea as he said, "I can sense her just fine myself. There's someone else with her as well. Her handler, I suspect."

Galatea nodded while looking at him with intrigue. Her questions on how he can sense the handler can wait, there are more pressing matters at hand. "Are you sure it's wise to leave Riful like that? I could tell that you made her mad before knocking her out."

Flora looked quite worried to hear that. The last thing she wanted to have was a vindictive Abyssal One on their tail.

"The alternative would have been to either kill her or let her come with me," Naruto said with a sigh. "If what Riful said is true, then the Organization probably already knows I beat her. If I killed her, they would stop at nothing to capture me - if I let her come with me, she would be more trouble than it's worth once people realize what she is."

"If they realize what she is," Flora pointed out, the worry in her eyes only becoming more prominent. "The Abyssal Ones are hard to locate, precisely because they've been hiding for decades - centuries, in her case. I'd frankly rather have her traveling with us than _chasing_ us."

"If she chases us… then I'll take care of her. I was holding back against her on purpose. If I wanted to, I could have made that castle and mountain a crater."

"And I can't," Flora pointed out. "The last thing I want is to be used as leverage against you, my love. But she can and will if we encounter her again. Also, she's notorious for being frighteningly intelligent. I'm sure she'd find a way to kill you if she really wanted to."

"As powerful as you may be," Jean added, "it would be wise not to rest on your laurels. Many a Number One with the power to kill the Abyssal Ones has existed. But despite that power, two of them were killed by the King of the North, while another was killed by Luciela, and she's the weakest of the three."

Naruto frowned thoughtfully. "Hmmm… you have a point. I'll be careful." Then he sighed and rolled his eyes, "This is going to be troublesome, I can tell." Then the orange pigmentation around his eyes vanished and the toad-like irises turned back to normal blue as Naruto expelled the nature chakra.

Deciding a change of subject was needed he looked at the last two women he didn't know and said, "I'm Naruto, by the way, but you'd most likely know me as 'The Youma Hunter'. May I know who you are?"

"I'm Jean," the one with the cloak replied. "The current Number Nine. My peers know me as Drillsword Jean, thanks to my technique. I can't thank you enough for sending Flora to extract us from that castle."

"I can see under that cloak, by the way," Naruto pointed out.

Jean blushed at that. "Well, I do owe you my life for what you did," she replied awkwardly, shyly averting her gaze. "I'd be willing… to compensate you in whatever way I can."

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, only for whatever he was going to say to stay on the tip of his tongue when he heard Flora giggle. He gave his girlfriend a flat look, "You'd better not be thinking what I think you're thinking."

"Well, I mean, if she's willing…" the Number 8 cooed mischievously. "After all, I _did_ say many of my peers are starving for attention… and you already gave two of my peers a nice pounding… or five."

Galatea, Jean, and especially Clare blushed heavily at that.

"Not to mention," she added while looking at the other three from the corner of her eye, "you already know about our stigma and what we turn into once we go over our limit, and you still treat us like we're normal human beings."

"Because you _are_ human beings." Naruto sighed before giving Flora a knowing look. He knew what she was trying to do, still, if she wanted him to say it in front of them then he will. "Just because you were cut open and had the flesh and blood of youmas operated in you, doesn't make you any less human. If you're being treated like monsters, then you'd become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I might as well _be_ one of the few people that don't treat you, ladies, any differently."

"Careful, now," Galatea teased, "A certain someone might just end up taking advantage of the situation if you keep that up~!"

Jean blushed even more heavily, knowing full well whom she was referring to.

"He wouldn't mind."

Naruto gave Flora a light swat over the head. "Oi! Don't put words into my mouth!"

"I can feel you poking me, y'know," she pointed out with an amused roll of her eyes.

"We should probably get as far away from here as possible." Clare pointed out nervously. "In case Riful _wakes up_?" She heavily stressed those last two words in particular.

"Judging by the crest on her sword, that's Clare," Flora added. "She's Number 47."

"She isn't showing signs of doing so just yet, but moving would be wise," Galatea chimed in, bringing everyone's attention back to the main point. "I must report to my handler, anyway."

Naruto looked in the direction he came from for a moment, before bringing his gaze back to Galatea. "We can walk together for a few hours before you do that. There is safety in numbers, after all."

"You just want to bask in the presence of beautiful women don't you?" Flora teased.

"That and safety in numbers." Naruto repeated flatly, "If we're being watched, then it would give Jean and Galatea the benefit of the doubt. Not sure about Clare though, since she's meant to be on the run. Not to mention it would be logical from their Handlers standpoint: staying with the one that defeated an Abyssal One would increase your survival… plus, Galatea can just say she's fishing for information about me or something in case she gets into trouble. The same can go for Jean. As for Clare... well… she can claim the same, I suppose?"

"She's on the run," Galatea pointed out. "I could easily claim that she convinced you to protect her, though."

"That would make the most sense," the girl in question concurred. "I'm also looking for someone… a friend I got separated from during my last mission."

"I was told about him. A kid a couple of years younger than I am."

Clare nodded. "His name is Raki. He has brown hair and a scar on his left eyebrow. He's also fairly short, about yea high." She held a hand out to the level of her bust to indicated how tall the boy was. "Would you mind helping me with that?"

"I most certainly will," Jean chimed in. "It's the least I can do."

"I'll see what I can do as well," Naruto replied. "Now, let's get going, eh?"

With that, and Flora hugging his arm, they were off. As they walked away from Mount Zakol, though, Jean just had to know.

"What age are you, Naruto?"

"I'm fifteen."

To say she, Clare, and Galatea were surprised he was that young would be saying the sky was red. It was a huge understatement. And Naruto and Flora both enjoyed the startled reactions his answer gave them. Jean was less so, interestingly enough, having seen weirder shit.

* * *

Sometime later in Alphonse…

A bloodcurdling scream sounded as Eva's team found themselves in hot water.

"Shit!" Lucia hopped out of the way of several tentacles as they snatched at her feet. "Kate's down!"

Eva snarled defiantly, rearing her sword back and bringing it down in a diagonal slash. The sheer force behind her swing sent a shockwave at the five-headed creature harassing her only remaining comrade, slicing the beast in twain from thirty feet away. "What…. What the hell's going on?!"

Both Kate and Mila were down, she could barely even feel their yoki as it started to fade. If they weren't dead already, they didn't have long. Before the two remaining warriors were several titan-sized awakened beings, marching forth to trample them like the _ants_ they were in comparison.

"We need to retreat!" Lucia cried out. "Captain, please! This town is a lost cause!" She didn't want to die! Not here in this barren frozen wasteland!

"I can't just sit idly by and watch her people get slaughtered!" Eva sent another shockwave at the awakened beings, lopping a head off the closest one. While it hurt like a bitch the creature still had two more to spare as a crab-like claw came down to snap at one of Eva's arms. "Gah! Get away from me!" She slashed at the creature's claw, only for another awakened being to come charging in while she was distracted!

The creature was a metallic humanoid with scythe-like blades for arms and he brought one down. Eva's pained scream echoed throughout the battlefield as her left arm was lopped off at the socket. Had she not reacted in time, that attack would have chopped her in half. Unfortunately, several other awakened being started to rush her, taking advantage of her weakness, only to be sent back several feet by a red and black blur.

Holding the stump where her limb used to be, Eva stared at the back of the figure's flame patterned red coat with wide eyes. What the hell was _he_ doing here?!

The clone looked over his shoulder at Eva, and the Number 7 saw the orange pigmentations around his eyes and the yellow toad-like irises. From her near-death experience, Eva felt fear gripping her heart as she came to the worst conclusion, was he an Awakened Being too? Was he going to finish her himself?

Her grim thoughts were broken when Eva heard an ecstatic Lucia cry out, "Naruto! W-what are you doing here?!"

"Pulling your ass out of trouble, it looks like," the clone answered half-jokingly and half-seriously. Then he turned his attention to the Awakened Beings and his lips thinned, "Scoop up your friend and get out of here. I'll catch up."

Lucia didn't like that one bit. "W-what?! You can't be serious!" There was no way he could fight them by himself! He's just a human!

Naruto chuckled ominously and three poofs later, there was four of him. "Dead serious. Run! I'll catch up!"

His tone left no room for argument, causing the young warrior to flinch. Her eyes welled up as she picked Eva up in a bridal carry and got the hell out of there. "DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!"

Kate and Mila were left behind. Naruto could still feel their yoki, although it was fading rapidly. If they didn't get medical attention ASAP, then they would die. Luckily, he had three clones to get their bodies and bail - and that's what two of them did. They leapt to the unconscious, near death Kate and Mila and got them in a bridal carry before taking off to safety as fast as possible.

They were in bad shape. Mila had a vicious gash from her left shoulder to her right hip and was very pale, with blue lips. The woman had a fist-sized hole in her stomach as well that was all the way through. She was barely breathing.

Kate was in a similar state; the poor thing had a spike through her gut - something he had to leave in less he accidentally kill her - and she had a massive gash on her collarbone and along her waist. It seemed she tried to run away, or took a hit for someone.

Time was absolutely vital, now; every second wasted brought them closer to death.

Then, the remaining two clones glared at the Awakened Beings, the sheer malice sending shivers up many of their spines. "If anyone's dying here, it's _you fuckers_."


	12. Chapter: Extra Scene 1

On a hilltop some distance away, a black robed man and a woman in a black version of a claymore's uniform stood looking in the direction of the demolished castle. They had been watching for some time now. While the man cannot see or sense anything at all different about the place from where they stood, the same cannot be said for the woman. Based on her input, he can make certain assumptions about what is happening, even if he is not a witness.

"What do you sense now?"

"...The strongest source of yoki has been defeated. As for the four warriors, they have escaped but are not moving any further."

"Humph, I see, so that means God-Eye Galatea, Drillsword Jean, the renegade, and Windcutter Flora has managed to escape. Are you certain the last one was nowhere near Riful of the West when she was defeated?"

"Yes. She has recovered the Renegade and Drillsword Jean before leaving. God-Eye Galatea has retreated shortly after the Abyssal One started fighting."

Taking a moment to contemplate on the information he was given, the man looked to the woman. "How do you think you would compare yourself to the Abyssal One, at your current level?"

"Poorly," the woman replied. "From the burst of yoki I have detected from the Abyssal One, I can perhaps decrease her by 50% before being overwhelmed. If she had her partner aiding her, I could dispatch him and perhaps decrease her by 30% before I die."

Closing his eyes in contemplation, the man nodded in response. "I see. And if Windcutter Flora was nowhere near her when Riful was defeated, the only conclusion I can come to is that the Youma Hunter has been the one to deal with her."

"Shall I deal with her now that she has been defeated?" The woman asked in a monotone.

"No. By the time you get there, Alicia, she will already have been woken and hid herself." The man in black frowned. He then turned to address another man in black and another woman in the standard 'claymore' uniform. "The Renegade, Drillsword Jean, and Windcutter Flora will be sent north to Alphonse; with Eva's team being missing in action, the situation there is becoming something more than we had anticipated."

"Understood," the man replied with a creepily, toothy, wide-faced grin. "I'll let them know."


	13. Chapter 12

"So why are we not going to Hanel to get Jean something to wear again?" Flora asked as she, Galatea, Clare, and the woman in question walked as far in the opposite direction of Hanel and Mount Zakol as they possibly can.

"Because, honey, the city of Hanel is _hours_ away from Mount Zakol. I don't want to be anywhere near that place by the time Riful wakes up." Was her answer; Naruto kept looking in the direction of the mountain they were being watched from. He had no idea of the range of that warrior, but he suspected they were getting out of her range.

He can kick her ass, and even kill her. But he wasn't going to fight the Abyssal One of the West with hundreds of people around him. Also, to be fair, she was going to be justifiably pissed when she awoke and outright killing her in cold blood seemed… dirty.

"So, you're trying to protect thousands of lives?" Clare asked him with a quirked brow.

Actually, he just wanted to be far away from Mount Zakol as possible. But Naruto answered with a shrug and casually said, "Yeah." as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Well now that there was nothing to keep them from talking, Galatea decided it was high time to ask some questions she wanted to get off her chest. She looked at him. "So… when you fought Riful… how did you move so fast? Or know when she was about to attack?"

Naruto didn't mind in letting Galatea and the others know. "Moving fast to avoid her is actually a very basic technique, I know. It's called 'Body Flicker'. It lets me move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. To anyone but the user, it's like I teleported." he paused to let that sink in, and Clare drew parallels between this 'Body Flicker' to Miria's 'Phantom' technique. They sound fundamentally similar. "As for how I knew when Riful was going to attack? I could sense her yoki. Even when she thought she was being sneaky with those underground attacks, I could still sense her."

"I never sensed it…" Flora was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Neither did I to be perfectly honest." Galatea admitted, which was saying something seeing as she was _the_ best yoki sensor the Organization had to offer. She was so good, the woman could feel their emotions. For him to be able to sense Riful's yoki in her hair, when she didn't… his ability to accurately pinpoint yoki is greater than hers, and he's only human.

He is a unique human. Having the ability to sense yoki _without_ having yoki yourself is unheard of!

Then Jean walked a little closer to Naruto and Flora and asked them. "Is it really true?"

Naruto and Flora blinked, looked at one another, before looking at Flora. "Is what true?"

"That you're fucking Flora? And that you're getting married?" She asked that with such a straight, serious face that it was difficult for _anyone_ to believe that she wasn't blushing. Though to be fair, the woman was doing a damn good job at keeping her emotions in check.

The reaction she got from both Flora and Naruto was pretty damn hilarious.

"Yes."

"No!"

Naruto and Flora looked at one another, then back at Jean.

"No!"

"Yes."

They looked at each other again. Naruto then cleared his throat and replied with a heavy blush. "We're in a... very heated relationship, yes. But we're not getting married."

"Yet." Flora interjected with a wide smile.

Naruto opened his mouth to refute that, but thought better of it and closed his mouth with a sigh. She was _technically_ right… they weren't getting married... yet.

"Duly noted…" Jean replied thoughtfully. "So you really did see her naked then?"

"Yes." Naruto admitted with a sigh and he wondered _why_ he was telling her this.

"Then you really did see the stitching holding our wound closed." Jean said, and Naruto was wondering where she was taking this.

"...yes? It's not really that bad. I mean, yeah, you have a gash that can never heal but that doesn't take away your appeal or anything." Naruto was being genuine in what he was saying. He really thought there was nothing wrong with that gash on her front. He saw worse things than that.

Then he had to take a moment and think back to what she said earlier.

" _I do owe you my life for what you did. I'd be willing… to compensate you in whatever way I can."_

Those words spoken by her earlier had made him squint his eyes suspiciously at Jean who was looking anywhere but at him. What was she up to?

"Uh… Flora…" Jean called out hesitantly, fiddling against the corners of the cloak Clare had given to her, "C-can I speak to you about something… in private?"

The woman in question frowned in concern but nodded. She was in for quite the pleasant surprise when they ducked into the nearby treeline to chat… seeing that Naruto, Clare, and Galatea came to a stop and waited for them to come back.

"...Sooooo…" Naruto scratched the side of his neck awkwardly, as he tried to start another conversation. "...nice day we're having."

"Better than I thought it'd turn out for sure," Clare mentioned. Who knows what would have happened had he and Flora not gotten there in time? She would have probably suffered a worse fate than death!

Galatea concurred wholeheartedly for the Renegade. "Much better. So, where did you come from? Mucha?"

"I was there the longest, yes, but I never lived there." Naruto freely admitted. "You wouldn't find out where I lived before coming to Mucha, if you tried. It's very well hidden." He lied. Naruto couldn't go and say he's from a different dimension. They would think he's insane or something!

"I see." That told Galatea all she needed to know: there were other people like Naruto out there. Out of gratitude, however, she will keep this information to herself. If what he said was true then the Organization will most likely already know he has defeated Riful. As much as she wanted to, she will not try and involve his people with the youma problem since the Organization is already butthurt with just one person taking their 'job' away from them.

Just then, Flora and Jean emerged from the treeline and made their way back to the other three. The latter was now beet red, fidgeting even more than before. Flora, on the other hand, was smiling an amused smile. Naruto was suspicious of that but he didn't say anything.

"You ladies good to go?"

"Very much so," Flora chirped as she gazed at the fidgeting Jean with a widening smile.

"Uh...huh…" That wasn't suspicious at all. He put that aside though and they all got back to moving again. As he turned to get moving, Naruto then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Jean looking at him longingly. "Uh… yes?"

The Number 9 hugged his arm, letting him feel her sizeable bosom, and she was pleased to see that he didn't pull away. Or resist. So he _was_ telling the truth; he didn't find her stigma disturbing. "I… want to repay you for your help," she said nervously.

"You don't need to do anything. I would do it again in a heartbeat," He reassured her, but Naruto knew that look in her eye. Jean was the honorable type, someone who wouldn't let a debt go unpaid.

Jean tightened her arms around his. "I insist." Her mind was made up; he helped her. While Clare _did_ reverse her Awakening against all odds, it was he who distracted Riful long enough for them all to escape. She owed them both a life debt. "You helped save my life by distracting the Abyssal One of the West long enough for the rest of us to escape. It's only fair that I protect yours with my own." There was more that went unsaid.

"Well well," Galatea was more amused than anything else. "It seems you have her loyalty and a life debt."

Naruto was shown to be uncomfortable to be entrusted with such a thing. Even though he never had one given to him, he didn't like being able to control the life of another individual, though he understood where Jean was coming from. She was just being grateful.

"Just so you know, I don't want a life debt; I'm not the kinda guy who likes having that kinda control over people… _but_ I'm fine with having another traveling companion."

"That's a perfectly reasonable compromise," Jean replied with a warm smile. This Naruto was such a nice, young man; no wonder Flora was thinking about putting a ring on him! Her grin widened. Who knows? Maybe she could be his mistress?

Naruto could tell this girl was thirsty; she had that same grin on her as Flora. And he noticed that not once did she let go of his arm. He could feel _everything_. Those funbags of hers were a lot bigger than they'd initially looked.

"We should get moving again," Galatea told them. "I will accompany you for another hour, before taking my leave. I have to report to the Organization."

As they started walking again Flora gave the Number 3 a suspicious look.

"What are you planning on telling them?" she asked.

The Eye of the Organization shrugged without looking at her and said, "Only what happened: I followed the Renegade to Mount Zakol, engaged Riful and her pet while said renegade rescued Jean. Then the two of you arrived just in time to turn the odds into our favour. Jean gave you a life debt and will protect you with her life, and the Youma Hunter is helping the Renegade find her friend. I didn't press the issue, as I did not like my chances of going up against three warriors, and a human that was capable of defeating an Abyssal One."

"In other words, you're going to tell a half-lie?" Naruto clarified.

"Yes. While I never lied to my handler or the Elder, I feel an exception can be made here." Galatea said with a nod.

"I see…" Then Naruto gave Galatea a respectful bow, surprising her, Jean, and Clare immensely. "Thank you." He straightened himself up again.

The Number 3 blinked before chuckling. "No thanks is needed."

After that, the five of them continued on their way, with Jean still hanging on to Naruto's arm. When an hour did pass, they were well away from Mount Zakol, and Galatea had parted ways with the four as she said she would. Naruto, Flora, Jean, and Clare bid her farewell and continued on their way though the latter was a little confused as to why the other three were following her.

"Why are you three still following me?" She asked, nearly 30 minutes later.

"I'm meant to be following him," Flora told her while gesturing to Naruto. "I'm simply doing my job."

"I'm his new companion...and I do owe you my life as well." Jean answered with honesty.

"I'm heading North actually. I heard there's some... strange activity going on there." Not to mention he got the memories of his clone back. Turns out the situation there was worse than he thought.

If his clone didn't get there in time, they would have suffered an entire party wipe. Those poor girls… especially the two those other clones got out of there. He was no medical expert, but with the wounds they sustained, he doubt they would survive. They were barely clinging to life.

Naruto pushed aside those grim thoughts though and got back to the matter at hand. "Plus, I did say I would help you look for your friend. I figured it would be a good idea to stick with you. It would be easier to relay anything I find to you that way." The blond finished.

"I see…" While she was mildly irritated, Clare didn't let it show. Besides, the kid did have a point, it would make sense if he stayed with her while he gathered information on Raki.

"Not to mention," Flora added, "Galatea's reporting that you're staying with Naruto."

"On top of that, we're bound to be intercepted by a Handler soon," Naruto added. "Considering we have two single digits, and no offense to you Clare, the weakest warrior, it's almost a certainty that Handler is going to have a warrior who's stronger than all three of you."

"In other words: you're staying with Clare because of safety in numbers?" Flora asked for clarification.

Clare sighed. She might as well play along… "And more eyes to look for my friend," she added.

"That too." Naruto nodded.

"Oh, there's also the fact you can accurately pinpoint a youma, Awakened Being, or a warrior," Flora added thoughtfully. "That'll come in handy, seeing how we're likely to be chased by Riful of the West." She shot her boyfriend a flat look.

Naruto sighed, knowing his girlfriend was not letting that go anytime soon… not that he could blame her.

"To be fair, the Abyssal Ones are rather territorial." Jean just had to come to Naruto's defense. "Riful won't chase after us if we're out of Lautrec unless she wants the other two to usurp it."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Flora reminded her. "I'm not so confident that she'd care as much about that, mainly because we have no idea just how vindictive she is."

"She did say she tortured and killed 30 warriors before my… my team." Having her team die in front of her, and in the case of Katea Awakening, then being crushed was nightmare inducing.

"All the more reason to be cautious..." Flora sighed heavily. Then, she shot her man a look and hissed, "Oh, will you comfort her, already? The poor woman is hiding it well, but I have no doubt she's traumatized!"

"I don't know how to comfort a traumatized woman!" Naruto hissed back, "What? Do you want me to say 'everything's alright, it won't happen again?'"

"It's a start, at least… hug her or something!"

"I _can_ hear you two, you know…" Jean deadpanned. This was getting rather awkward for her. "I'll be fine."

"..." Naruto exhaled and Jean rather dejectedly, unwrapped her arms around him when he pulled it away. Then she was surprised when Naruto put said arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a comforting hug. "I'm not good at comforting or crap like this… But...if you want to talk about it, I'm all ears?"

Poor Jean turned a bright red from her collarbone on up to the roots of her hair as she averted her gaze. "Th-thank you…" While this only made her feel even more awkward, she was grateful. "Again, I'll be fine… for now. But… thank you."

Naruto smiled at that and rubbed her back, before turning to Flora. "So… how far is Alphonse from here?"

Flora shrugged. "I haven't been in Lautrec before now. If we were in Mucha, though, I'd say it would have taken us… two to three weeks?"

"Or you _could_ ask me? Or Jean?" Clare deadpanned. "The two of us could've answered that. Our regions are in Lautrec after all."

"Wasn't aware of that," Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "I was just about to ask you and Jean for good measure, before you spoke up, though."

"We're a good week or so from the border," Jean chimed in. "Maybe ten days. I'm not as familiar with this area in particular, but I'll be able to pinpoint it better when we're closer to a town, or landmark I am familiar with."

"If I remember right, the warrior called Phantom Miria said Hanel and Mount Zakol was to the North West of Lydd…" Naruto mused aloud. Hearing him say Miria's name had surprised Clare immensely as she was now staring at him with wide eyes.

Jean perked up at that. "How far?"

"She said Mount Zakol was a three-week journey from Lydd."

"I'm aware of Lydd being about five weeks from the northern border," Jean said. "It's also a more direct path, though since it's a valley and there's only so many ways you can go. The one from Mount Zakol to Alphonse, however, is more… windy, I guess, you could say, because of the rocky, mountainous terrain. It's harder to traverse, so the path wraps around several mountains and cliffs, resulting in a longer road than it should be."

"But the journey to Alphonse from Zakol is shorter?" Naruto asked her with intrigue.

"Zakol is significantly closer to Alphonse than Lydd," Jean replied with a nod. "That much I know, though I don't know how out-of-the-way this road will take us to get there."

"If nothing else, it'll let us get to know each other a little bit more." Naruto was looking at the bright side of things. It's sorta his job to keep people optimistic. And he liked that job. "I still have a week's worth of food on me and everything."

"I'll be glad to hunt for some more meat to help it last longer, just in case," Jean offered.

"It's nice for you to offer, but it's okay," Naruto told her as he smiled under his mask. Only to frown a moment later. "Hmmm...unless the next town is more than a week away, _then_ you can help me hunt for food. Sound good?"

"It's a good compromise." Jean nodded. "The next town is a little over a week away, though. But if you're running out of food by then, I can hunt for some meat for you." Rabbits made for good meat and they do last a good while when dried.

"Thank you, Jean." And he meant that. To show his appreciation, Naruto lowered his mask and kissed the Number 9 on the cheek. The woman blushed and sputtered and when she looked at him, Naruto had his mask back on and was acting like nothing had happened.

* * *

 **Two days later**

Mount Zakol was well behind them now, and Clare, Jean, Flora, and Naruto were now in a forested area. Clare was getting used to their presence and she found herself surprised when she enjoyed having a conversation or two with Naruto. He was like Raki; the kid didn't treat her like she was a monster just waiting to lash out. He treated her like he would treat anyone else: normal.

' _I guess that's why I'm finding him pleasant to be around.'_ Was what she thought.

"So, you're still not sure how you got here, then?" Jean hummed thoughtfully. "Very interesting."

And right now, Naruto was retelling his experience on how he ended up here. And his lack of knowledge on _how_ exactly he ended up here. Though he made sure to leave out a few things.

"Yeah. I'm still trying to piece together just what happened, but, I can't quite remember. In fact, I don't remember anything on how exactly I got here." He chuckled grimly at that. Then with a shake of his head, Naruto added, "I was here for three months before I was found by Flora, actually. And before then, I was still trying to find a way home and going from place to place and never stayed too long in a town. I've had long since given up hope on that by now, though."

It was too bad, as well… maybe Granny Tsunade could have helped them with those nasty gashes. Well, he wasn't going to dwell on 'maybes' and 'what ifs'. He was going to focus on the here and now.

"But on the bright side-" Naruto cut himself off mid-speech and narrowed his eyes. "Huh… There's a strong yoki signature up ahead hiding in wait, behind some trees and bushes to our left." He tilted his head slightly in curiosity. "Whoever it belongs to, she's stronger than the three of you."

"She?" Clare asked him.

"Her yoki's not corrupt like Riful's or her little 'pet'. It belongs to a warrior, and she's stronger than both Jean and Flora. Way stronger." He told the Number 47. Whoever this woman is she's stronger than Miria, but not by much.

"What's the plan?" Flora asked.

"It's simple," Naruto grinned under his mask, "you three walk on up ahead and I will-" and so, as they leaned in to listen as Naruto told them his plan, they slowed their walking to buy themselves enough time to listen to said plan.

In the end, the three of them decided to go along with it.

* * *

A few minutes later, the three of them kept on walking forth, Flora in the lead. Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Windcutter Flora…" a feminine voice called out. "Why are you still with these two and not the Youma Hunter?"

As the woman who spoke, a one-eyed warrior that she passingly recognized, emerged, Flora addressed her. "He is scouting ahead for a suitable campsite," she replied. "He left me in charge of keeping an eye on these two… mostly Clare. What brings you here... Rafaela, was it?"

The woman in question looked at Clare dead in the eyes and answered, "I am here for her."

Jean immediately took that in the worst way possible and took a defensive position in front of the Number 47, a hand on the grip of her sword. "If you want to get to her, you will have to go through me first," she declared fiercely.

"Now, now, no need to be like that," another voice sounded from the treeline as a dark clothed man with black glasses and a fedora emerged. Clare immediately recognized him as her handler, Rubel. The man was carrying two pairs of uniforms under his arms. "We're just here to have a friendly chat."

"The way she phrased it sounded like a threat," Jean told Rubel respectfully...though she didn't release her sword, nor did she get out of her defensive stance.

"What brings you here, Handler?" Flora asked the man with a polite smile. "Seeing as you're carrying two pairs of uniforms, I take it this is not a social call?"

"It's not, I'm afraid," Rubel replied with a smile. "Eva's team were all killed in Alphonse by a suspiciously large amount of Awakened Beings. As a result, 24 warriors are being reassigned to go there as a special task force to kill them. That includes you three."

"What makes you think I'll go there?" Clare challenged. She had no intention of giving up her search for Raki.

At that Rubel gave her a knowing smile. "Normally, a deserter like you would be executed on the spot. However, if you join the Special Task Force in the north, the Elder will see you pardoned and you will no longer be on the run for desertion. And also, your companion was last seen taken North to Alphonse by a group of slavers. Going there to find him would be in his, _and_ your best interest would it not?"

Clare snarled. "You bastard… you had something to do with that, didn't you?!"

Rubel merely smiled, and it wasn't a kind one. "I have no idea what you're talking about. We don't deal with slavers. Seeing as you were never seen separated from your little friend, and you abandoned your region, I assumed you were merely searching for him, so I gave you information on his last known whereabouts out of the good of my heart. Or, was I wrong in my assumptions?"

Unseen by Rubel and Rafaela Naruto dropped out of a tree behind them and landed in a kneel without making a sound. And then he stood up to his full height without the two knowing and turned to look at them from the corner of his eye.

"Is he lying?" Flora casually asked.

"No," Naruto answered, surprising Rubel and Rafaela immensely, prompting the two of them to turn around to look at him. "This slimy looking git isn't lying." He also clearly believed that Eva's team had been wiped. "For all he knows, that pardoning bit is true as well, though I wouldn't put it past the leaders of this Organization to stab you all in the back later." He then gave Rubel a dead serious look. "If that happens, though, they _will_ answer to me and we'll see how secure your little walls are against an assassin."

"Duly noted," Rubel replied with a polite smile, completely unphased by the threat.

"Uh-huh… let me put it this way: I know _you_ know, that I beat Riful. And I was barely _trying_ with her. Let's see how confident you are when I _am_ trying to kill you."

"Rest assured, I'm not foolish enough to provoke you," Rubel replied, his smile not fading one bit. "If the Elder is, that's his problem, though I will take steps to prevent it; I very much like the payroll he gives me. It's quite the generous salary, in fact."

"Then I really hope that salary is worth it if I come for your heads. After all, if I remember right, the women under your 'care' are not allowed to kill humans." Then he back walked into the shadows and he was pleased to see Rubel's smug looking smile fading in surprise when he seemingly became one with the shade being given off by the trees.

"Huh…" Jean was impressed. "He really _is_ an assassin. I will not envy who pisses him off."

"And he can move faster than me and is skilled enough to defeat Dauf and Riful and he wasn't trying." Flora chimed. "Truly, whoever is dumb enough to gain his ire will have their hands full."

"I will bear that in mind," Rubel replied with a nod. "Now… about your uniforms."

* * *

"Was threatening my handler really necessary?"

"Not really. But if Flora dies because of whatever this new task force is being made to do, I _will_ be very pissed."

The group of four were now heading to Alphonse. Clare and Jean were back to wearing their uniforms - their armour included. It turns out Rubel had that with him along with the two-piece uniforms, slung to a pack mule in a nearby camp he'd set up.

Naruto didn't like the slimy git. Something about the man just rubbed him the wrong way.

It was a shame about that woman Rafaela though. It was clear there was something that had traumatized her a long time ago, and from the way, she acted no one bothered to try and comfort her, or reassure her. She was mostly quiet for the most part and came off as aloof. But there was something in her eye… she wasn't living. Not really. It was like she was still around to do one last thing, one more purpose. What that was he didn't know.

He just hoped that woman wouldn't do something stupid. No one deserved to live like that. Maybe _if_ he happens to run into her again he can just get her to sit down and talk. It wouldn't hurt for her to get that baggage off her chest.

He'd try not to lose any sleep over it if he can't help, though. He can't save everyone, after all. But he'd sure as hell give it his best shot.

"I thought it was funny." Flora chimed in with a smile. "And be honest, weren't their times when _you_ wanted to threaten your Handler?"

"Uh… n-no comment," Clare muttered, averting her gaze.

"Translation: yes," Naruto said with a warm chuckle. "I don't blame you, to be honest. I met Flora's Handler, and I wanted to break his nose within the first five minutes of meeting the prick. Your Handler just rubs me the wrong way… that and that smug little smile makes me want to break his nose too."

"That one rubs us all the wrong way, I'm sure," Jean chimed in. "I'd prefer to avoid unnecessary violence when I could, even if it weren't for that one rule, but I can understand where you're coming from."

"I prefer to avoid unnecessary violence too, profession as an assassin aside. But I can _and will_ kill if it's necessary." Then Naruto shrugged and said, "It's not all bad though."

"Yes. You told me you would do anything for the right price… weeding. Gardening. Babysitting…" Flora trailed off with an impish giggle.

"Bera is bera; I have to make money somehow." Naruto reminded his girlfriend.

"A man's got to eat," Jean concurred with a sagely nod.

"Speaking of eating, I wouldn't mind eating _you_ out, if you know what I mean," Naruto teased with an eye smile.

Being the innocent woman she was, Jean didn't, though she knew damn well that whatever he meant was sexual in nature. She blushed heavily at that realization. "It… depends on what 'eating out' means," she replied.

"He wants to give you the tongue lashing," Flora clarified with a lewd giggle.

Poor Jean went stock still at that. Had she eyebrows, they'd reach her hairline as she turned beet red. "Oh… uh… oh, my…" She honestly had no idea how to respond to that.

"Ugh…" Clare couldn't help but shake her head. That kind of talk was appalling! On the other hand… she subtly eyed Naruto, Flora, and Jean from the corner of her eye… seeing the stoic woman acting like this was rather refreshing. Normally single digit warriors are unapproachable. It's nice to see that not all of them were.

And to see such an unapproachable woman's composure shatter so… cutely, well, it threw her in for a loop. And to see Windcutter Flora encouraging it was something else the Number 47 had not been expecting.

If he wasn't around...she wondered what Flora would be like. Would she still be the same person here? Or, would she be different? Clare felt a smile tugging at her lips as the conversation escalated, Flora, mentioning that she'd love to have Naruto's babies if she could, though the Number 47 would die of embarrassment long before admitting that she was amused by it all.

"P-please stop." Jean pleaded.

Naruto couldn't help but one last jab in before calling it let out an overdramatic sigh and laced his hands behind his head. "And here I was getting used to you wearing nothing but that cloak. I got nothing to stare at now."

Flora giggled, swearing she could see steam rising from the poor woman's cheeks. Fortunately for Jean, though, that was the last of it.


	14. Chapter 13

Ten days later

Alphonse, a region that is a mountainous, boreal land. Everywhere you look snow met your gaze. On the trees, on the mountains, on the rocks, the snow covered almost everything. One place where the claymores were meeting is a town near the Northern Border of Toulouse…

"The town of the beginning, Pieta…" Jean muttered as she, Clare, Naruto, and Flora made their way into the settlement. "I haven't been here since I left, all those years ago…" she added reminiscently.

Naruto tilt his head to the side, "I can sense 21 other claymores further up ahead… and…" he frowned heavily under his mask and looked off in the distance. "Huh… There's 27 Awakened Beings nearby."

Of course, for the claymores that was excluding the team he'd rescued as he can sense two of them further in, keeping their yoki suppressed... and only two. That meant the other two his clones pulled out of the fire died in the end after all, didn't it? He frowned and gave the two a silent prayer.

He'll go check just to make sure, but hoped the Pure Lands will take care of them, if that was the case. And as for the Awakened Beings, he can sense 27 of them... but there was another three who were more powerful than they let on. Though they were keeping their yoki suppressed; one of them reminded him of Riful, while _the_ most powerful yoki presence there easily surpassed that girl. It was hard to get an accurate reading on those three, but he knew they were stronger than they were letting on.

That little bombshell got Flora and the other two to look at him with wide, shocked eyes. "Twenty-Seven?! You're sure?" She felt a pit in her stomach when her boyfriend nodded. Why were there so many Awakened Beings gathered in one place?!

Clare bit on her bottom lip. "...That's definitely not good." That was an understatement of the century. Will they even last long enough against those odds?!

Still frowning Naruto looked at his girlfriend and his companions. "I'll need to go for a bit. There's something I need to check on." he told them.

"What?"

Naruto just gave his girlfriend a smile. They could see it even from under his mask. "It's nothing for you to worry about; I won't leave town if that's what you're thinking." Then his image flickered before he vanished entirely. He had a certain Number 12 and Number 7 to check up on first.

* * *

A few minutes later, Naruto found himself in front of the entrance to a relatively out-of-the-way inn's high-end suite. It was here he sensed the obscure yoki signatures belonging whatever remained of Eva's team. Naruto still didn't sense the other two when he was on his way here though. He had to give them props though, they were keeping their yoki so damn suppressed unless you were Galatea or exceptionally gifted in locating yoki they would be under the radar.

Naruto knocked on the door and waited. It didn't take long for him to get an answer. "We don't want any!"

Naruto let out a dramatic gasp. "Lucia! I'm _hurt_ you don't want to see me!"

That was followed by the rapid thud of her feet hitting hardwood as the door flung open and the blond found himself glomped by an over-enthusiastic Lucia. "You're alive!" she squealed happily. Then she pulled back, and her ecstatic expression fell to an enraged scowl. Then Lucia whacked him over the head. "Where the _hell_ have you been?! After your... copies brought back Mila and Kate, you just vanished! I was worried sick!"

"I was busy dealing with the Abyssal One of the West." Naruto said in a flat deadpan. "I might have to deal with her again, too… she's most likely pissed I knocked her ass out. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. How are those other two girls… Mila and Kate, was it?"

"Dead." Eva answered grimly as she stepped to the doorway. She was still missing her left arm and looked like utter hell, the poor thing. "They lost too much blood and their wounds were severe. They passed on shortly after your… copies brought them to safety."

Naruto frowned and sighed. "Sorry to hear that… I wish I got there sooner. How are you?"

Eva shrugged, "As good as someone missing an arm can be. My dominant one, too… Pretty sure my career as a warrior is over, now."

"You're about to have another fight coming up soon." Naruto told them. "There's 27 Awakened Beings outside of Pieta right now. And I'd bet my left leg the small group you were unlucky to run into came from that platoon." Upon seeing their expressions, Naruto continued. "I can evacuate you two if you're not feeling up to it, though."

Lucia's gaze dropped in shame as she replied. "I… I'm not. I can't, not again…"

"I would love to stay and fight to protect this town, but with my dominant arm gone I am more of a liability than an asset." Eva sighed.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "I don't blame you," he said. He had no idea when those Awakened Beings are going to attack, but he'll bet it's going to be a day from now. "I'll have some clones set up a camp for you girls in the mountains, well out of the way, then. You'll be perfectly safe there, even if the warriors here fall. Seeing as how my girlfriend's one of them, though, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that I'm not letting that happen."

"And… what are _you_ going to do?"

Naruto flashed them both an eye-smile and gave the wounded women a thumbs up. "I'm gonna take out as many of those Awakened Beings as I can, of course."

"How exactly are you going to do that? Awakened Beings aren't your common youma. They're tougher, stronger and more difficult to kill." Eva pointed out.

"I know a couple of ways…" He answered mysteriously. Then Naruto gave them both a look. "If you got nothing to pack, I can make a clone and he'll take you out of here? The Organization thinks you're dead, so as long as you don't bring attention to yourself they'll keep thinking that way."

"Got it." Eva nodded.

Lucia added on to it. "And no, we have nothing to pack."

Naruto nodded and, one poof later, created a clone for the girls. "Just grab hold and he'll move faster than the eye can see. You'll be out of Pieta in a matter of seconds."

The girls looked at him oddly and both nodded. As they did, each one grabbed a hand of the clone and they were gone, all three vanishing as the clone flickered off to safety.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Pieta's town square, there was a bit of ruckus as an acquaintance of Clare's leaped at her, sword drawn, with a cry of 'Yahoo!"

Clare deflected the playful blow quite readily and her 'assailant' leapt back. Jean was then on her ass like white on rice, only for another woman to get between them, holding a sword to the neck of the single digit warrior.

"No need to interfere," the woman said. "This is just a bit of playfulness between friends."

"Bit of an odd one, if you ask me," Flora commented.

The woman was then visibly startled as Jean expertly knocked her sword away before she even knew what happened.

"I agree," the Number 9 concurred, cautiously eyeballing both of the new arrivals.

"Damn, Clare," the more rowdy woman chirped, letting out a playful chuckle. "You've been making a few friends, I see. Of course they'd be sticks in the mud like you." Then she turned to face the eyebrowless woman, "Oi! I'm Helen, Number 22, and my friend, here's Deneve, Number 15." she gestured to the short haired woman who probably just saved her dignity. "What're your names and numbers?"

"I am Jean." was the reply, "I am ranked Number 9."

"I am Flora, I am ranked Number 8."

Helen nearly jumped out of her skin at that. "Are you serious? Both of you are single-digits?! What are you doing tagging along with Number 47?!" She turned to look at Jean, all wide-eyed, "A-and why are you treating her like a superior?!"

"She saved my life," Jean replied as if she were talking about the weather. "Rank has nothing to do with that."

"I'm just keeping an eye on these two, myself," Flora added.

"Huh… and here I thought most single-digits were stuck up and unapproachable," Deneve commented. "Glad to see I'm wrong." She turned to Jean. "Sorry for being so hasty, earlier."

"Think nothing of it," Jean replied with a smile. "I'm sorry for getting in the way of a reunion between friends."

The two of them looked to Helen who suddenly felt rather awkward. "Yeah, I'm sorry, too," she said with a sheepish grin. "I didn't exactly make my intentions clear, after all."

"I wonder if he's going to be coming back…" Flora mused aloud. There were a _lot_ of Awakened Beings lurking outside of Pieta right now.

"He said he was checking on something. I am sure he will be returning any second now." Jean reassured the woman.

Helen blinked owlishly between the two, feeling like she was missing something big here. "Uh… who are you talking about?" then, as if she had a realization, Helen leered at Clare and asked, "Is the 'he' referring to your little boy toy?"

Helen was a little surprised when Clare shook her head. "No. It's not Raki. It's someone else."

Well colour her curious! Helen had an intrigued look on her face as she asked, "Oh? Who?"

Flora just gave Helen and Deneve a mysterious smile. "Oh… just someone I know. You'll probably see him soon enough. He's around… somewhere."

Helen got a flat look on her face and she slumped over. "That's not mysterious at all…"

Suddenly Jean started walking drawing their attention as she said. "We should probably find out who the leader of this task force is."

"Sounds like a plan," Flora chimed in.

At that, Clare gave them an odd look. "So, neither of you would be leading us?"

"In cases where multiple single-digits are present," Jean explained, "the one with the lower number is the leader of the group. It's rare that such a thing happens, but that's the standard procedure."

"And seeing as there are 24 of us, that would mean it is possible someone with a lower rank than Jean and myself is here as well. The role of leader would go to her by default." Flora added.

Clare took that information in with a thoughtful look. It seems she's learning more things every day. Soon enough the five of them all found the rest of the task force and in the case of four of them, they were pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face at the very front.

"Thank you all for coming, I am Number 6, Phantom Miria. And I am your leader for this mission."

Helen brightened up at the sight of her old friend. "Oi! Big Sis! Long time, no see!"

Miria blinked in surprise at being addressed as such, but gave Helen a pleased smile when she saw some familiar faces. Then she took a deep, cleansing breath as she called out a few more names and numbers, "Number 8, Flora, Number 9, Jean, Number 11, Undine, and Number 13, Veronica," she declared, "please step forward."

All the women in question did just that. The latter two being a burly woman with long hair and two swords, and a fairly small woman with her hair tied back in a ponytail.

With that said and done, Miria addressed the crowd. "Thank you all for coming." she said. Then her expression turned dire as she went straight to business. "Around fifteen days ago, a large group of Awakened Beings have been spotted to the North of this Village. They've killed Number 7, Eva and her hunting party, so we have been tasked with eliminating them, before they travel any further."

Almost immediately, a roar of murmurs erupted from the crowd.

"A large group!?" one girl exclaimed in hear hysterics.

"B-but, they're Awakened Beings! They've never formed groups before!" another declared.

"How many could there be? Are we even equipped to handle a 'large group' of them?!"

"I was told there was 27 of them in total." Jean spoke up, making everyone go dead silent as they, except for Clare and Flora, all looked at her in shock. "That is what we are up against."

"WHAT?!"

As Jean's answer made almost everyone explode in panic, there was a large gust of wind as Flora used her Windcutter to blast every damn flake of snow out of the immediate area. What unnerved the crowd, even more, was that she hadn't visibly moved.

"I do believe our commander wasn't done talking." Flora pointedly looked at the panicky warriors. The message was clear: _Shut up or I'll make you_.

"Thank you, Flora," Miria told her before addressing the group. "That said, I have decided to split this group up into smaller, more manageable teams. We will be treating this as a normal hunt and adapt to the situation as needed." Then she stepped forward, in front of the four she'd called out. "Number 14, Cynthia. Number 22, Helen. Number 35, Pamela, and Number 14, Matilda. You four are with Veronica." the woman gestured to the one with the ponytail.

In the crowd, Helen scowed at not being teamed up with Deneve but she shrugged it off with a disappointed sigh.

"Number 15, Deneve. Number 24, Zelda. Number 36, Claudia, and Number 43, Juliana, you're with Undine." Miria gestured towards the muscular woman with the two swords. "Number 17, Eliza. Number 27, Emilia. Number 37, Natalie, and Number 44, Diana, you're with Jean. Number 18, Lily, Number 30 Wendy, Nuber 39, Carla and Number 47 Clare, you're with Flora. That leaves Numbers 20, Queenie, Number 31, Tabitha and Number 40, Yuma with me." She sighed. "Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, I got one." Undine turned to look at Jean with a heavy frown. "Who the hell told you there are 27 Awakened Beings?"

"I did."

"GYA!" Miria screamed out in absolute shock, and almost jumped right out of her own skin when she heard Naruto answer directly beside her. She wasn't one to scare easily, but damn, that startled her!

"The Youma Hunter!" Lily pointed at him with her eyes wide in surprise.

Naruto chuckled in mild amusement as he heard a thunder of whispers coming from all the beautiful, warriors. "You can call me Naruto," he said. "I find that nickname to be kinda lame, actually." He sighed and walked down the steps, "Now I have something to do."

"And that is?" Miria asked.

Naruto stopped and looked back at her. "Taking care of your Awakened Being problem." While Naruto wasn't usually one to hold grudges, he was feeling particularly vindictive after seeing the mental state poor Lucia was in. She was a tough cookie, but he could tell that the experience had shaken her far more than she'd let on. "You got 27 of them to deal with; I'm going to try and halve that."

"You _cannot_ be serious." It was Veronica who said that, drawing Naruto's gaze to her. "These are not your common youma! They come in all shapes and sizes! They'll rip you to pieces before you can get a hit on them!"

"Maybe so." Naruto surprised Veronica when he agreed with her. Then he shrugged, "But I have a few tricks up my-" Naruto cut himself off and looked to his right with a heavy frown. "Huh… it seems three Awakened Beings are separating themselves and are heading over here right now."

"What?!" Miria was wide eyed at that. Were they attacking early?!

"Naruto, do you know how long they'll take to get here?" Flora asked him.

The blond in question cocked his head to the side. "They're moving slow. If they keep that pace up, I'd give it a day." answered Naruto. "They're probably scouts. I might as well deal with them first."

"Now _this_ is something I have got to see." Helen snarked. By this point in time Naruto's alias as 'The Youma Hunter' was well known to some of them. Many a warrior thought he was a fraud and that Naruto merely got lucky, or he took credit for the kills a warrior had done. Helen belonged to the latter category.

"No offense, but it's too dangerous for you," Naruto whispered into her ear, right after appearing right next to the woman and startling the holy hell out of her. Many a warrior present nearly jumped out of her skin as a result. The _only_ one who'd actually expected him to do that was Flora. Even Jean and Clare were surprised, though less so than the others.

"Naruto, honey, we were made for this sort of thing." an amused Flora reminded him.

"Not for fighting more than one or two Awakened Beings, though," Naruto countered. "You're dealing with 27 of them; there is a dozen times as many out there than you girls are ready to handle, which is precisely why I intend to thin their numbers a bit. I don't want _you_ in particular to get hurt. Or worse."

Flora blushed heavily, feeling her heart flutter at that. It was so sweet. She could do without all the odd looks from her peers, though.

Helen cleared her throat and said, "If there's only three of them, then our five teams can take them on." then she smirked at him, crossing her arms against her bosom, "After all, if they happen to start kicking your ass then we can come out of the sidelines and pull it out of the fire."

Naruto smirked at her though the woman couldn't see it because of his mask. "Alright. You have a point. It would be nice to have _someone_ watch me from the sidelines, just in case." It would help with morale if they saw what he is capable of. A lot of these girls were putting up a good front, but they were scared. The only one here who knows exactly what he is capable of is Flora. Jean and Clare have some idea, but all they really know is that he is strong enough to beat Riful and her consort.

"Are you going to confront them right now?" Flora asked.

"No. Unlike you lot, I'm not immune to the cold." That's one of the things he's actually jealous of if he's perfectly honest. "...I'll most likely head on up to of one of the roofs and keep an eye on them from there." he added as an afterthought while looking at the roofs in question.

"At least until around noon, when it's not _as_ cold. I'll probably head on over to them when that time comes. Can't afford to have these enemy forces gain too much intel."

"I can direct you to a place that sells fur coats if the weather starts bothering you," one girl offered. She seemed rather young, though that might be because she was a bit on the short side… and the pigtails. Those made her look rather young, too.

Naruto gave the girl an eye smile. "It's fine, don't worry about it." then he looked to one of the roofs directly to his right. "That's a good place for me to use…" then he walked out in front of Helen, bent his knees and got _everyone_ to let out a started gasp of yelp when he leapt on up to the roof and landed on the tiles with a light thud.

As he swiped the snow off with his foot Naruto could feel all 24 eyes on him. He ignored that however and took a seat on the now cleared tile like he was meditating.

"...Holy shit." Helen's mouth was dropped open and her eyes were open-wide. That was from across the damn courtyard! Even she couldn't make a jump like that from this distance from a standing position. Hell, she probably couldn't pull that off with a running start! And she didn't feel yoki being used either!

"Holy shit is right…" Deneve was staring at the blond with wide eyes herself. "He can move so fast it's like Miria's Phantom technique, without the after-images. And he can leap at a far distance just from standing. He can sense yoki, but he doesn't need to use it… just what is he?"

"A mystery that I am still trying to find out to this day," Flora answered with a heavy sigh, drawing everyone's attention to her once more. "I was with him the longest and there is so much about him I haven't learned yet, let alone how he is capable of identifying who is a youma and who isn't. He told me there are other ways of finding out but hasn't elaborated on it."

"Very interesting," Miria mused aloud.

"What _do_ you know about him?" Undine asked the woman without taking her eyes off her boyfriend.

"I know quite a bit: he has a minor transformation of some sort, that increases his sensing powass drastically. It's how we found Lydd - it turns out he can sense other humans in that form. I do not know what else he is capable of in it because I never got the chance to see him use it in a fight." Flora paused to let that sink in while she tried to think of what else she learned. "Naruto sees all of us as human beings and treats us like we're normal people. He even knows what happens to us if we go past our limit. Also, those rumors about us being in a romantic relationship are true." She turned to give a short-haired girl off to the side an impish grin, "I heard you whispering to your friends about it, so I felt the need to clear that up. He's also powerful enough to wipe out a fortified encampment of bandits in less than a minute. I only saw him use that technique once though."

"Technique?" one of the girls asked.

Flora shrugged. "I never told my Handler the true version of this, but, Naruto wiped out a fortified bandit camp with water and fire. It literally felt like there was an earthquake. Only their charred carcasses remained by the time he was finished with them." At their disbelieving looks, the Number 8 shrugged. "It's unbelievable but true. Even I have trouble believing it and I was there."

"So, I take it the rumors about the Abyssal One of the West…" Miria trailed off.

"He beat her and her consort singlehandedly," Jean chimed in. "Hopefully she doesn't come here. Naruto left her… displeased, to say the least."

"The Abyssal Ones won't leave their territory, lest one of the other two try and take it from her," Veronica said.

"I... wouldn't be so sure about that," Miria muttered. "Riful of the West has a reputation for being particularly vengeful. We should keep an eye out for her, just in case." She had no idea if that one would be vengeful enough to leave Lautrec, and while Veronica did bring up a good point - because never in all the history of the Organization did an Abyssal One leave their territory to their knowledge - it wouldn't hurt to be cautious all the same.

"NO ONE IS COMING FROM LAUTREC!" They jumped when they heard Naruto calling to them from where he sat on the roof. "SO YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!"

Little did they know, Naruto was currently in Sage Mode. The blond wanted to have a little oomph when it came to sensing. He hasn't detected anyone coming from the West. Nor was there any yoki in the vicinity… well… other than the 27 lurking to the North. There was another two further behind them, along with… a human?

How curious.

Naruto frowned a little when he sensed someone else. Again there was a feeling of familiarity to it. But, unlike the last time, there was no Sage Chakra… but normal chakra. And it was close as well. A little more than a mile away from Pieta to be exact. The person didn't seem to be getting any closer or further away though. He will keep an eye on that one, though. Maybe the familiar chakra belongs to someone he knows?

"I'LL HAVE ONE OF THE TEAMS KEEP AN EYE OUT JUST IN CASE," Miria yelled back in response. "IT'S BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY."

Naruto gave the woman a thumbs up. "GOOD POINT. I'LL LET YOU KNOW IF THEY'RE GETTING CLOSE OR NOT, SO YOU LOT CAN DO YOUR OWN THING FOR THE TIME BEING." And with that Naruto went back to keeping a lookout. The other 24 Awakened Beings were staying in one place, so the three coming down being a scouting party is more and more likely.

Miria nodded then looked to the rest of the task force. "As of right now, we should rest and get to know your team. We'll get started first thing in the morning."

With that said and done, everyone went to their groups and went their separate ways.

* * *

A few minutes later, in the hotel room, her team shared a warrior with long, straight hair and short bangs parted in the middle nervously approached her new captain, Flora.

If memory served, this woman's name was Karla? The Number 8 gave her a curious look. She recognized her as the friend that short-haired one was talking to… Pamela, was it? There were so many names to remember in such a short amount of time that it was hard to keep track.

Karla seemed rather hesitant, fidgeting shyly. "Um..." she began. "I-if it's not too intrusive to ask, w-what's it like being in a romantic relationship?"

The Number 8 chortled as she smiled. "It's not intrusive at all. Being in a romantic relationship is… It's indescribable really." her smile grew. "It feels nice… very much so. He even goes so far as to make me feel like the only woman in the world that matters, despite a couple... encounters with other warriors."

"He's been teasing poor Jean for a while now, too," Clare pointed out, sounding rather jealous.

"Never knew she could get so flustered. It's rather cute, actually." Flora giggled in amusement. "But yes, being in a relationship like that feels nice. I feel like a normal woman. I enjoy the cuddling… and the sex."

That little bombshell got almost everyone in her team to choke on their own spit. Even Clare looked surprised.

"You're having sex?!" A young woman with long hair almost shouted with disbelief showing on her pretty face. She is Number 18, Lily.

"Of course." Flora was just able to keep herself from grinning at the shocked looks she was getting from her teammates. "He's saw my stigma and isn't disturbed by it. He doesn't even think it's a big deal. He even saw Jean's and that didn't distract him from teasing her."

Upon hearing that, the last member of her team - a short-haired, young-looking girl named Wendy - spoke up. Her cheeks flared at the naughty thoughts going through her head. "So… he has permission to… to do it with other women?"

Flora gave her a knowing look. "Well, as my boyfriend said a while ago: we're only human, and we're so neglected." she grinned widely at that. The woman did say she wouldn't object if other hybrids wanted a piece of him, after all. "However, Naruto _is_ loyal to me. If you're planning to make a move on him by yourself, he is probably going to refuse. The last two times he was fucking someone other than me, I had to goad him on into doing it."

All four of her teammates looked at her curiously, clearly wondering who those two women were.

Flora saw their curiosity and decided to get that thought out of the way. "The first one was Lucia… who was a member of Eva's team." All four of them winced at that since their death was what led them here in the first place. "The second one, was, funnily enough, our commander Phantom Miria. And let me tell you he fucked her _good_ ~"

That was more than a little shocking to hear.

"O-oh, my…" Karla gasped.

"Y-you cannot be serious…" Clare muttered.

"I am _very_ serious." Flora giggled. "However, as I said before, I had to be there _and_ goad him into doing it. Some innuendos here, a little teasing there, and he was raring to go. By the time he was finished with either, Miria and Lucia were both walking with a limp."

All four of the other women could feel their cheeks starting to burn as they averted their gazes shyly.

"Of course, he _is_ a bit of an ass man. If he sees it without your fauld or cape in the way he's likely going to compliment it." Flora added thoughtfully. "He certainly complimented mine… and Lucia's… and Miria's. And he's a bit of a tits man too… Hmmm." She could see the wheels in Wendy's head starting to turn. "Now that I think about it, he seems to like a lot of things… aggressive women in particular, but he also finds the shy, timid ones to be adorable."

Now that she thought about it, he never fucked Jean when all she had covering her nudity was that cloak Clare lent her. Though, to be fair, he probably would have - with her encouragement of course - had it not been for the threat of Riful waking up and wreaking bloody vengeance upon them.

"I…" Wendy cleared her throat. "I see…"

Flora expertly hid her impish grin upon hearing that. Clare excluded, Naruto is bound to get some attention from these girls soon enough, she thinks…


	15. Chapter 14

Hours later Miria, Helen, and Deneve were in a call that was near the outskirts of town. A campfire was in the middle to lighten up the interior. All three women were only in their jumpsuits, with their claymores laid nearby and within arms reach. They heard plated metal clank against the rocky surface and looked to the entryway.

Clare had arrived.

"Yo." Helen greeted her with a smirk. "I hope you weren't followed. Just like you and the others gathered here, I am rather bad when it comes to getting along with other people… which is why I wasn't interested in where the others went." Clare had a neutral look on her face while she listened to Helen's explanation. Then Helen chuckled and Clare raised her eyebrows when the former grasped on the grip of her sword and raised it. "Well, let's commemorate our reunion."

Miria smiled at that, Deneve while startled had the corners of her lips curve slightly upwards, and Clare herself had a small smile. Deneve and Miria stood up with Helen and the former two, along with Clare drew out their swords and placed them on top of Helen's. After a brief moment all four withdrew their swords and put them aside, then Miria, Helen, and Deneve all took their seats again with Clare joining in.

"I am glad to see you all alive and well," Miria said with a happy relieved smile with Clare and Deneve returning it.

Helen looked towards Miria as she said, "Our position probably wasn't as dangerous as yours anyway. How it's been going?"

Sighing Miria leaned forward and rested her arms on her legs. "Well… using basically every trick in the book, I somehow managed-" she paused, alarmed when herself, Helen, and Deneve all heard another set of footsteps approaching the cave.

Helen stood up, hand grasping the grip of her sword. "Who's there? Show yourself!" she yelled demandingly.

"I'm sorry," Jean said, revealing herself. "I didn't want to interrupt a reunion between friends, but I believe I'm in a similar position with the rest of you."

"Oh, really," Miria asked, raising an eyebrow, she looked between Clare and Jean. "would you care to elaborate?"

Clare and Jean exchanged looks, then the former regaled everything from finding the dying hybrid in the city of Hanel she was passing through, to her encounter with Riful and her consort, to Galatea saving her and then finding Jean fully awakened but still retaining her human mind, and then being able to revert Jean back to her current state with the woman in question helping.

Then she went to describe what happened when Flora came...

* * *

A few minutes later, as Clare finished her tale with Jean adding in a few parts, Miria and the others sat in disbelief at what they'd heard. Miria who was staring intently into the campfire broke the silence that dominated the place.

"Recovery from a completely Awakened body… I can't believe it." The Number 6 looked at Jean with an expression that was akin to awe. "Most likely a result of extraordinary willpower. I doubt it's something we could do as well…"

The Number 9 shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "I had help."

"Indeed." Miria looked at Clare with respect. "Never had I thought yoki synchronization could be used in such a way."

Deneve saw her friend, Helen, with a wide open and gaping mouth. "Hmm? What's with the face?"

Helen's mouth closed and opened several times. "I...it's… I'm trying to wrap my head around everything we were told. Just… _holy shit!_ That kid's what? 15, 16? And he took on Riful of the freaking _West_ by himself and _won?!"_

"It surprised me too. He wasn't even winded." Clare said with a shake of her head. "He even said it was easier than he thought it would be when he caught up with us."

"I knew that young man had frightening potential when I saw him, but this is quite the shock, nonetheless," Miria thought aloud, crossing her arms and expertly hiding how turned on she was. "We should keep tabs on him, as Naruto is clearly a powerful ally to have."

"...I have to ask you something Miria." Clare started, looking said woman dead in the eye with such intensity it honestly took her and everyone else by surprise.

The Number 6 furrowed her brow a little. "Which is…?"

"Did you fuck Naruto when you first met him and Flora in Lydd?" She bluntly asked.

For what felt like a good thirty damn minutes, one could hear a pin drop, even with the crackling of their campfire. Then, Miria cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably. "I… have no need to explain myself," she deadpanned.

That reaction came as quite the shock for the other three women.

Clare nodded. "So Flora was telling the truth." The corners of her lips twitched; she was going to _milk_ this opportunity. "Then I suppose it's true that he had to be goaded into doing it by Flora herself, first. I also heard from the woman that he fucked you so good you were limping. And that he fucked you again and again and again before leaving for Mount Zakol."

Poor Miria slowly turned a deeper shade of red with each syllable. "I would appreciate it if you kept your nose out of my love life."

Clare had a mask of childlike innocence that was so, very unlike her. "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about. I wasn't the one who asked Flora these questions. Wendy did. Flora even went into detail on how he complimented your ass and breasts. I just overheard what was being said."

Poor Jean started shifting uncomfortably as well.

"Clare…" Miria warned her. Only once in her life had the woman been so damn tempted to hit someone.

"I also heard from Flora that he is a bit of an ass man, and tits man too. From what she said, Naruto is more likely to compliment your butt once he sees it not covered by our faulds or cape." The Number 47 shrugged and crossed her legs in a ladylike manner. "Of course, he won't actually have sex with you… because he's loyal to Flora. My captain even said she had to goad him into doing it. That doesn't mean he won't flirt though."

"Oh, he'll flirt, alright," Jean muttered shyly.

Helen smirked at the thought of one of her teammates. "If he's an ass man, then he'll like Cynthia. She's got one hell of an ass on her, I'll tell you that." she sniggered with a wide, close-eyed grin.

"Would it kill you to show some tact?" Deneve sighed.

"Possibly," Helen replied teasingly.

Miria decided to get back on track before they all get even more distracted. She cleared her throat and addressed Clare. "I already noticed it earlier, but your right is… is different. The arm of someone really powerful, who's was it?" she respectfully asked.

Blinking Helen looked rapidly between Clare and Miria. "H-huh? Right arm? Wha-?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that," Clare answered, but did go on to say. "But I can say this much: I did lose my own right arm in battle. And the right arm you all are seeing right now belongs to someone else. I'm merely borrowing it."

Miria shifted around on her makeshift seat. "Nevermind about the arm, then; your general situation doesn't seem to be looking too good. A while ago, I heard you were on the run from the Organization."

Clare just shrugged at that. "But that's not just me." she pointed out to her and then elaborated upon seeing their confused looks. "It's something that can be said about you four. No, about all of the 24 who have gathered here as well. Am I correct?"

"What you do mean?" Helen asked as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Ignoring Helen's question, Clare then proceeded to ask. "Miria, how would you assess this operation's whole chances of succeeding?"

Miria closed her eyes, interlocked her fingers in front of her mouth and rested her elbows on her legs. Then in a no-nonsense tone, she answered. "For this operation… if Naruto wasn't here, then the chances of success would be zero."

Dead silence reigned in the interior of the cave.

Out of everyone, only Helen voiced what was on everyone's mind.

"What do you mean?"

Miria opened her eyes and went on to elaborate her reasoning why their mission here would have originally, ultimately end in failure for everyone. "If it were just about a multitude of Awakened Beings, we could somehow pull through. Or rather: even if our chances were slim, it wouldn't be impossible for us to succeed." she paused a moment to let her words sink in and to take a breath. "But with the presence of the one behind them, whatever careful tactics and strategies, whatever reinforcements and what else we may try… it would have ended up becoming ultimately futile."

Miria looked at them one by one. "Even if we were to defeat the army here, we would then have to deal with the man behind them: Isley, the Abyssal One of the North."

That sent shivers up the women's spines.

"S-so you're saying we're gonna die?!" Helen demanded, looking understandably frantic.

"Not necessarily anymore." Miria corrected the woman. "We have Naruto, a young man who defeated an Abyssal One who was barely _trying_. With him on our side, our chances of living have gone up. Not drastically but it has gone up."

"By how much?" Helen demanded.

"I don't know enough about him to make an accurate judgment, and the Lost Generation _was_ said to be stronger than us." Miria sighed as she closed her eyes once more. "But I believe our chances have gone up by 30%. Again, I must _stress_ that this is not an accurate judgment. It could be more or lesser than that. But seeing as he fought the Abyssal One of the West and her partner and has defeated them both, I'd say our chances of pulling through this is good at best."

"Better than nothing, I suppose," Deneve commented.

"I don't know about you girls," Helen added, "but I'm feeling the need to provide him with more incentive to help out."

"Flirt with him and he'll flirt with you back. He seems to do it to any woman he finds pretty." Clare told the woman. "Just don't expect him to fuck you without Flora there to egg him on."

"Won't stop me from trying," Helen chuckled.

"Of course not," Deneve added with a roll of her eyes.

Shaking her head Miria stood up and grabbed her claymore. "We better get back to town before our teams try to find out where we are." The other four exchanged looks before they did the same.

* * *

Naruto was keeping a vigilant eye on the three Awakened Beings from his place on the rooftop in Sage Mode. He noticed they were being slow in their approach; it seems they were being vigilant. That, or they were going to wait for when their guard is down. He was getting a little bored waiting and watching, and he would have been cold had the blond not applied some seals on his clothes to generate heat. He was lukewarm now. Not cold, but not warm either.

Of course, he sensed Helen, Deneve, Miria, Clare, and Jean all going to a secluded place in the mountains nearby but didn't do anything about it.

A few minutes later though and Naruto furrowed his brow a little.

"Hmm… they're picking up the pace a little bit." He was talking about the Awakened Beings, not the five 'silver eyed witches'. They were coming back now actually and would likely be back in the next… ten minutes or so.

The familiar-like chakra he could sense was getting closer as well. Whoever that person is they're still keeping themselves hidden from him. Naruto hoped that person would actually show themself sooner rather than later.

Ten minutes later, and the five women were now back in town. Naruto didn't so much as look at them since he wanted to let them think he didn't notice… That and he wanted to keep his focus on the Awakened Beings who were still making their way to the settlement at a sedated pace. But then, he sensed two of the five women making a beeline for him. These two weren't Jean, Clare or Miria, either. That… caught his attention. What did these women want?

Naruto still didn't look in their direction though.

"Hmm… this'll be interesting." He muttered to himself with a small smile.

A few minutes later, Helen and Deneve quickly found themselves on the roof and standing behind the young man, one showing far more mischievous intent than the other.

"So, care to tell me what the five of you were doing out in the mountains?" Naruto asked them both, surprising them immensely.

"You knew?" Deneve asked.

Naruto scoffed though it was in goodnature. "If I could sense 27 Awakened Beings, did you seriously think I wouldn't be able to sense you?" He still didn't turn to look at them when speaking though, because his attention was still on the Awakened Beings.

"Just having a little reunion," Helen replied with a shrug. She had nothing to hide. "Clare and Miria are friends of ours, and Jean seems to have joined our little club."

"Oh! That's good to hear." Naruto really meant that. Anyone in their position could use a friend or two. This time, Naruto did turn to look at them. "So, what brings you cuties up here? It can't be because of little ol' me can it?"

"Oh, it most certainly is," Helen cooed, practically appearing right on up in his business, squatting and with an arm wrapped around him. "Word on the street is that 'little' Naruto's a deadly weapon; I just had to come and see for myself what kinda _sword_ you're packing~!"

"Please do excuse my friend," Deneve chimed in, rolling her eyes. "Helen here doesn't know the meaning of the word subtlety."

"It's...uh… it's fine?" Naruto was confused...though he _did_ know what Helen was saying. After being around Flora for so long, there are some innuendos that he's now quite… intimately familiar with. "I take it you're the forward type, then?"

"Admittedly," Helen chirped.

"I tend to reign her in as much as I can. Lest she embarrasses herself." Deneve added before she went and sat down on his other side.

Naruto nodded slowly. "I see. So we have the playful, forward woman and the responsible level-headed woman." It was like something out of a comedy, amusingly.

"Yeah, pretty much," Helen replied with a chuckle. "So, what age are you kid?" He sounded pretty young to her and she wanted to know if he was older than he sounded.

"I'm 15." he answered.

"Really? You're not that much older from Clare's companion." Colour her surprised; he's acting a lot more mature than a lot of teenagers that age usually are.

"I was told about him by Clare herself actually," Naruto said with a tilt of his head. "She's looking for him. It's actually the main reason why she's here, apart from being pardoned. Her Handler said a group of slavers took him here. Though with the Awakened Beings here it's most likely he's dead." Though there was still that one, lone human he sensed earlier hanging out with two very strong Awakened Beings. He's not getting his hopes up, but that could be the kid in question.

"That's grim," Deneve said in a bland tone.

"That's reality." Naruto countered. "Enough of these grim thoughts though, you certainly don't need it. So, what you joked earlier notwithstanding, what is it you want to talk about? It can be anything, within reason or unless I'm uncomfortable about it."

"Yeah, I got a question: what's with your eyes?" Helen asked, pointing to her own. "The iris is yellow and...frog-like, with a pigmentation around them?" How odd. She felt no yoki coming from him yet those eyes were very different from what she was used to seeing. He's clearly no youma, or Awakened Being.

Naruto brought his hand up to rub under his eye. "It's an... empowered state called 'Sage Mode'. It's a power up that gives me a boost in pretty much everything."

"Oh?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Examples would be my durability, I could fall off this roof and land on my head and I would be completely fine. Another is my reflexes, I can react much faster than normal people. I can also sense other people in this state for several miles, yoki notwithstanding."

"Can anyone learn it?" Deneve asked.

"It has specific requirements, but I can't tell you what those are," Naruto answered with a shrug. Not that they're able to learn it anyway. None of the people here have a chakra network to even learn how to mix nature chakra. "I can tell you that the process to learn Sage Mode is very difficult and not just anyone can go under training to master it. If you're unable to balance the energy you take in, then it slowly turns you to stone and kills you."

"I'm tempted to try," Helen commented, cocking her head in childish wonder.

"Of course you are," Deneve muttered with a sigh.

Naruto chuckled as an amusing thought came to him. "It would certainly be a first: a claymore with the power of a Sage at her beck and call." The image of Fukasaku whacking Helen over the head with a stick to purge the sage chakra from her almost made him snort.

"Helen having her reflexes and durability boosted would be a nightmare to deal with. She's already troublesome as is."

The blonde in question cackled mischievously.

"She doesn't seem _that_ bad," Naruto told the woman, while pulling the now grinning Helen to him. "She's an angel! She certainly has the looks of one."

"Awww, you flatterer~!" The Number 22 leaned in and gave Naruto a peck on the cheek. "Keep that up and I'll give you a nice reward~" she purred.

Naruto chuckled nervously at that. This one's going to be a bit of a handful, isn't she? He could feel it in his bones. So he tried to think of something else to talk about. That was when Naruto noticed a difference to her uniform: the woman had a black, leather like fabric on her arms and legs. There was even a clamp that held the two pieces of fabric in place. That was very different.

"Never seen someone with black sleeves and leggings on their uniform before." He went to pull at the sleeve and was surprised to see it was elastic-like, despite it having the texture of leather. How curious. "Well, that's unique. Elastic leather. Two things I never thought to be possible."

Helen smirked and sat down on the roof tile beside him. "It's a special leather that's stretchable. I can stretch my limbs, and if I was wearing a normal uniform, like Deneve's, then the sleeves and leggings would tear at the seams and I would have to get a new one every time I did that. The Organization gave me this special leather so that wouldn't happen."

"That's cool! Heh, you can scratch that elusive itch by yourself and everything. Not to mention you can give a surprise sucker punch from like, a yard away." Then he looked to Deneve who was looking off into the distance, the blond could tell the woman was still listening though. "What about you? What can you do?"

"I heal fast." Was the woman's answer. "If someone was to cut my arm off, I can grow it back in a few minutes."

"A healing factor, eh? And a pretty strong one too from the sounds of it." He has a pretty strong healing factor but it's not good enough to regrow an entire arm… at least to his knowledge. He had been able to regrow entire organs once upon a time. Not so much anymore.

"You don't sound surprised." Helen pointed out.

At that Naruto just gave the woman a shrug. "It's because I'm not. I've seen too many things by this point to not be surprised by something like that anymore. Regrowing an entire arm is pretty handy… no pun intended."

The corners of Deneve's lips twitched upwards. "None taken."

"Still very interesting, though," Naruto commented with a smile.

"I'm Helen, by the way." The Number 22 introduced herself. "My friend sitting beside you is Deneve."

"Naruto," the blond replied with a smile, stretching his hand out to shake. "Naruto Uzumaki."

Helen graciously accepted it and shook his hand with a wide grin. "Y'know, you're not bad kid. When I first heard of you, I thought you were a fraud and stole the glory belonging to someone else. I am actually glad to be wrong for once."

"It happens," Naruto told her with a shrug. Then he looked off in the distance and stayed quiet for a moment. "We still have around five to six hours before the three Awakened Beings get here," He told them; then Naruto looked between the two friends. "So, until then, is there anything you cute ladies want to talk about?"

When he saw the mischievous grin on Helen's face, Naruto had a feeling he may have opened the gates to something that will totally embarrass him.

"Well…"

* * *

He was fairly lucky the cold didn't affect him in any way. His companions had to reverse summon themselves a few days after he entered this biome because the cold was getting to them. He didn't mind though. He's a good tracker and sensor, and while Sage Mode does give his sensing a massive boost he was no slouch without it. He could still keep an eye on Naruto without it.

It certainly helped he had the Transparent Escape Technique that made him invisible. So no one was able to see him. He followed Naruto to this town and kept himself on the outskirts, around an hour away from the settlement. As much as it ashamed him to admit, he wasn't ready to see Naruto again. Not yet. Besides...there was something going on here. Something bad. He didn't know what it was but it gave him a sense of foreboding.

So he moved position, still keeping himself on the outskirts but giving himself a better view of what was going on. And low and behold, when he got to an advantageous position to the North of the settlement, a few hours later, he saw Naruto sitting atop of one of the buildings keeping a lookout. He was too far away to get a good look at him. But he could see the blond was wearing new clothes instead of the orange and black jumpsuit he would wear. He was pretty sure the kid was wearing a coat very similar to the one his father would wear. Only the colours were reversed.

Not only that, he had two women sitting beside him! And they were quite the lookers from where he stood! The man was suddenly filled with inspiration; if only he could write in his notepad…

So, he stood. He watched. And he observed. Hours must've passed when something caught Naruto's attention because the blond looked in his general direction. But not directly _at_ him. It was past him… he frowned and turned his head and the invisible man saw three figures in the distance making their way to the settlement.

Something about them rubbed him the wrong way. The invisible man didn't see Naruto or the two women standing up. He didn't see them getting off the rooftop. And he most certainly didn't see the two girls going to get the rest of the task force assigned to defend the town, while Naruto himself was preparing to meet them. However, there was one thing the man _did_ know: something big was about to go down. And if Naruto's going to be in trouble, you can bet he'll be there to pull him out of the fire. Or else, his name is not Jiraiya!

* * *

As he walked through the streets Naruto could sense the familiar chakra nearby. Whoever it belonged to, they were a lot closer now. As for Helen and Deneve, they had succeeded in getting everyone to scramble. Many of them wanted to see just what he can do and some of the more hard headed ones, like Undine, wanted to see him get his ass kicked just so they could force him to sit on the sidelines.

That would never happen though, and by the time he was making his way a little way out of Pieta to the North, the entire task force had gotten their equipment back on and was now catching up so _they_ could safely watch him from the sidelines.

Of course, Naruto was going to let the Awakened Beings come to _him_. He wanted to give the Task Force a front row seat to the ass kicking he was going to deliver to the scouting party. He could tell from their murderous intent that it was only a matter of time before the one in front…

From the distance, several spiked, chain-like tentacles made of bone segments shot forth and planted themselves in a nearby building. He was coming. And Naruto, he was _ready_ for him. The man transformed himself into an eight-feet-tall humanoid that is covered by a bony-like exoskeleton with his joints being unprotected for better maneuverability. The tentacles he'd launched pulled him in towards the town; of course, he was intercepted before he could reach the town itself.

Naruto saw what the giant humanoid was going to do and he _launched_ himself towards the creature, his arm drawn back as the Awakened Being dragged himself to the town. The Awakened Being was rushing into town headfirst without a care in the world because he wanted to kill some townspeople for fun. Because why wouldn't he?! They were mere cattle for him! All they're good for is being food and-

 _WHAM!_

"GYAAH!"

He never expected to have Naruto meet him halfway, and deliver a devastating haymaker that knocked him back several feet, unhooking the tendrils from the buildings and causing the rubble to come crashing down to the ground. The Awakened Being himself smashed into the earth, sending snow and dirt everywhere as he slid across the ground, making a trench in the snow and earth that went for several feet. After he stopped, the Awakened Being pulled himself out of the ground and touched his face where he got punched with a grunt of discomfort, and was shocked to feel a _dent_ in his bony exoskeleton. There was an _actual_ _dent_! On his face!

"What…?" He was in disbelief and that disbelief then turned to anger, as he stood to his full towering, eight-feet tall height and looked for the one who did this to him with searching eyes. He found the one responsible, staring up at him with those odd-looking eyes of his.

"You bastard!" He growled, his mouth twisting into an enraged snarl, how dare this insignificant little _pest_ interrupt his fun! Then, the snarl turned to a menacing grin. He'll have his fun with the odd-eyed human first; he'll torture him and rip his arms and legs off before feasting on his innards!

Naruto merely looked up into the Awakened Beings eyes. He wasn't intimidated by him in the slightest. The monster in front of him thought he was going to steamroll over him, before killing as many townspeople as he wants. Unfortunately for him, there was snow around them, and where there's snow there is water. And where there is water, there's fuel for his attacks. But first…

Naruto bent his knees and dashed forth in a shinobi run, back hunched over with his arms behind him. His speed had taken the Awakened Being by complete surprise since a _human_ moving so fast was unheard of! His right leg almost gave out from under him when Naruto punched the shin and leaving behind a small dent on the exoskeleton. This was followed up by Naruto jumping up and roundhouse kicking him on the hip, and the sheer force of the kick left behind another dent on the Awakened Being.

"Ngh!"

The humanoid was forced to take a knee from the amount of pain he was in and tried to attack the deceptively strong human with his bone-like tendrils. But to his dismay, astonishment, and annoyance, the human proved too agile for him as he dodged and weaved through his attacks mid-fall. When Naruto landed, he bent his knees to absorb the impact before leaping back up again and delivered a devastating uppercut to the monster's chin, making his head snap back and outright _lifting_ him off his feet and land on his back.

Naruto wasn't finished there though. He flipped midair, and as he faced the downed Awakened Being, made six hand seals in rapid succession before his cheeks bloated out. To the surprise of the three Awakened Beings, and the task force, a _huge_ flame bullet shot out of Naruto's mouth and enveloped the humanoid below and several dozen yards of ground around him. The Awakened Being let out a cry of pain. The fire merely licked the bone exoskeleton protecting him, so that was mostly protecting him. It was the fleshy underside that was unprotected. And the fire was burning away at that, but it was slow going. However, it wasn't meant to hurt him, because it was _meant_ to melt the snow surrounding him and turn it into water.

As the fire dispersed Naruto put a distance between himself and the Awakened Being when he landed and made seven rapid hand seals. The water around the eight-feet tall humanoid came to live and utterly enveloped it in a dome of water like a titlewave in less than a second! Then Naruto dashed forward and leaped on in, and propelled himself through the water prison like a missle, leaving behind several _hundred_ explosive tags in his wake. Then he leaped out from the top and clenched his hand with his fore and middle fingers straightened.

As his feet met the ground, the explosive tags went off by the dozens like dominos, rocketing the water prison, as the shockwaves from the thousands of explosions made the dome ripple unstably and expand upwards and outwards, before it became a Massive dome of fire and heat that could be seen for miles. The snow covering the earth melted in less than a second and the ground was shaking by the shockwaves from the several thousand explosions going off! What kept the fire from spreading out in all directions was the water prison containing it. Naruto was standing with his back facing it, arms crossed confidently while glancing at it from partially over the shoulder. The wind bellowed against his back, the hem of his coat fluttering against the back of his legs.

The women that are watching on the sidelines shielded their faces when they felt the bellowing wind assaulting them. Their capes ruffled with the violent winds. It took everything the onlookers had to not lose their footing because of the ground shaking. It was like a damn _earthquake!_

"WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK IS THAT?!" Miria demanded as she struggled to stay on her feet.

She and several of the women were startled to their cores at Naruto's spectacle. Never in their lives had they seen anything of the like, save for Flora.

" _That_ ," The Number 8 calmly yelled over the violent winds, "is the very same technique Naruto had used to wipe out a bandit encampment!" There was a tone akin to admiration in her voice.

"Holy _shit…!_ " Through squint eyes, Helen stared on with her mouth agape. The Number 22 couldn't believe what she was seeing! That kind of power is insane!

"He was capable of doing that all this time…?" Jean couldn't keep the surprise from showing on her face and in her voice. She now fully believed their chances of getting out of this _mostly_ intact had increased.

"Not that I want to distract you all or anything, but The Youma Hunter's still got two more Awakened Beings to deal with!" One of Miria's teammates, the Number 20, Queenie yelled out remindfully. Then, after what felt like an eternity the dome of fire dispersed and the ground finally stopped shaking from the aftershocks of the explosion. The charred corpse of the Awakened Being and scorched ground was all that remained when the dome of fire went away. No longer feeling the violent wind bellowing against them all 24 Claymores uncovered their faces, and that was when they sensed the yoki belonging to the other two Awakened Beings spike. It seems they were finally going to join the fray.

The first was a giant, mutated, spiky armadillo-lizard thing, brown in colour and about the side of a wagon. The second was a metallic insect with no less than ten limbs and a crescent-shaped body. This one had no eyes and stood three times as tall thanks to its limbs but was only about half the size.

Naruto still had his back to them, even as they leaped forth and landed behind the charred corpse of their fallen comrade. Though calling him their comrade would be a bit of a stretch. After seeing that display the two of them came to an unspoken agreement that this thing before them - because no human, Claymore or Awakened Being is capable of doing such a thing - had to be taken care of first and foremost because he was a much bigger threat to them than anyone else.

Then Naruto turned around to give them his full undivided attention, and still kept his arms crossed against his chest. Huh… that armadillo-thing had a dumb-looking face now that he looked at it. It must've had lost a few brain cells. Or a few hundred.

"Hmm. Two against one, eh?" Naruto popped his neck and rolled his shoulders as his arms unfolded. "Maybe you can make me put some effort into fighting you. If this is the standard of Awakened Beings then I'm sorely disappointed. Killing that thing was too easy." He taunted for the sake of pissing them off. It worked.

"You _bastard!_ " With a vicious glare from the armadillo-lizard thing, his armored back parted open, before several spikes extended outwards and shot towards Naruto in an attempt to impale him. The blond just smirked and easily sidestepped each spikes while he casually walked up to the Awakened Beings like he was taking a stroll in a park.

When Naruto was within arms length, the mutant-lizard Awakened Being tried to take a bite out of him... only for the blond to retaliate by leaning back, before casually backhanding the dumb-looking creature across the face and throwing him back several feet. He then turned his attention to the insect-like Awakened Being, who was in the motion of trying to impale him with his many bladed limbs. Naruto didn't even try to move to avoid it, even as he stared death in the eyes.

"RAAAGH!"

He didn't need to. Because of Sage Mode, Naruto could feel the familiar chakra that's been following him for weeks, maybe a month rushing to him. Naruto wasn't surprised to see a Giant Rasengan grinding against those bladed limbs. But he _was_ surprised to see that the Rasengan belonged to someone who was supposed to be dead!

The person in question was a tall and well-built man far into adulthood with fair skin. He had waist-length, spiky white hair tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. His attire consisted of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, with mesh armour worn underneath that is visible at his wrists and ankles. He also had on a pair of handguards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side.

"Wha-what?!" The insect Awakened Being was understandably taken by surprise. This man just showed up out of thin air!

"Get! Away! From my, STUDENT! RAAAAAGH!" Jiraiya roared with ferocity in his voice. The Toad Sage's Giant Rasengan expanded even more in size, forcing the bladed limbs back. The Awakened Being could feel his limbs straining against whatever that thing was, and decided a brief retreat and take in this new variable was in order. With a vicious growl, he retreated with a flap of his wings. With the thing being forced back, for the time being, Jiraiya let the spiraling sphere dissipate.

Throughout all that Naruto was looking at the man's back with an expression that was akin to childish wonder. "P-pervy Sage?" he timidly called out.

"The one and only!" Jiraiya replied as he turned around with a wide grin. He hated being called that, to be honest, but he'd make an exception, here.

Naruto stared up at him in wide-eyed disbelief; the man's face was marred by cracks, and the sclera of his eyes were black instead of white. The horned forehead protector, a carbon copy of his own, that he wore had a large crack on it too. He was an Impure World Resurrection - an immortal, self-healing zombie that has virtually limitless chakra. But, despite that, he _was_ Jiraiya of the Sannin.

Realizing this, Naruto's eyes began to tear up, but with a sniff, he rubbed the tears away before they could fall. Then he threw himself at the man and wrapped his arm around him in a hug, shaking with joy at having his beloved sensei back.

And he couldn't be any happier.


	16. Chapter 15

As happy as he was to have Jiraiya back, Naruto knew he couldn't keep hugging the man forever. Those Awakened Beings were still around after all.

"Owww… I'm going to _kill_ that fucking brat!"

And from the sounds of it, that freak of a mutant armadillo-lizard thing had recovered. Naruto pulled away from the older man and brought his attention to the Awakened Beings, with Jiraiya doing the same.

"So, care to tell me what those things are?" Jiraiya asked his godson as he and Naruto stared the Awakened Beings down.

"They're called Awakened Beings. They're a type of demon that eat the guts of humans and were half-humans once upon a time. Think of them as a Jinchuuriki that went berserk…but lost their humanity and are now unable to regain it." Naruto explained to the best of his ability. He wasn't good with the explanation bits, Flora would be more suited to tell him.

"I see…" Jiraiya looked between the two Awakened Beings before glancing at his godson. "Which one do you want to take on?"

"I'll take on the dumb faced Armadillo!" The blond answered as he eagerly drove his fist into his palm.

"Which leaves me with the bug." The man grinned confidently. Then in perfect synchronization, the two Sages dashed forth across the battlefield towards the Awakened Beings.

* * *

As they watched on, many women were utterly baffled by the appearance of this "Pervy Sage", wondering where the hell he came from.

"So, someone from Naruto's home followed him here," Flora mused aloud. "Very interesting..."

"You know who that man is?" Miria looked at her inquisitively, her gaze demanding answers.

"I know _of_ him. He's one of Naruto's mentors," Flora explained. Then she looked at the long, white-haired man with squinty eyes. "I was under the impression that he was dead, though…"

"Clearly he's not." Clare deadpanned.

"He just… appeared out of nowhere! How the hell did he do that?!" Helen was very animated with her arms. Waving them up and down frantically as she tried to figure out just what the hell was going on.

"If the Youma Hunter is capable of moving just as fast as we are, then it's entirely reasonable that this man is capable of the same feat." Deneve reasoned. She was keeping a very close eye on both of them. And she had to admit, the older man was dressed oddly. It was different and didn't seem like something you would wear in the cold.

Unfortunately, their conversation was interrupted as a few of the girls suddenly fell to their knees and started to tremble. Miria looked at them, visibly concerned. Numbers 41, Matilda, 40, Yuma, 35, Pamela, and 24, Zelda all looked like they were in excruciating pain.

"O-oi! What's going on?" Helen was quick to see to her teammates, Matilda and Pamela in particular. "Are you girls alright?"

"S-something's… wrong!" Matilda whimpered out through her bared teeth.

"My… my yoki is…" Pamela struggled to say more before she snapped her eyes wide open as her yoki spiked against her will. The same thing happened to Matilda, Yuma and Zelda to the horror of everyone else. "I… I can't… con-trol myself! It's like someones… taking my yoki out of my control!" The poor woman bared her teeth and cried out in fear as she looked at her captain, and her commander with a desperate expression on her face. "H-help me!"

"Gah!" Zelda yelped as she shot up to her feet, sword drawn as she took a swipe at Helen. Had it not been for Miria coming to her aid, the concerned blonde would have been beheaded on the spot. The loud clang drew Naruto's attention and before he knew it, the women came at him. Prisoners in their own bodies, the women were utterly helpless as they were controlled like puppets on strings.

Naruto frowned, sensing their panic and confusion. To make matters worse, Helen and Miria dropped to their knees and started shaking as these girls charged. As he ducked and wove around the claymores, Naruto shouted to Jiraiya. "Pervy Sage! One of these two is somehow controlling them!"

"The warriors closer to the four-legged one are the ones being affected," Miria shouted, struggling to keep herself from moving. "It's most likely him!"

'Got it!" Naruto shouted back at her. Then he proceeded to glare at the armadillo who was grinning menacingly at him, he was able to sense the women trying to attack him and therefore was still able to duck and weave around their attacks.

Naruto had his suspicions that the dumb looking lizard was the one controlling them like puppets.

"GWAHAHAHHAA!" the Awakened Being laughed tauntingly. "I'll make them fight you and wear you down!"

And the moronic looking thing just had to go and say it. The blond narrowed his eyes and formed a cross seal. A single Shadow Clone, a physical copy of himself, appeared in front of him in a puff of smoke. Then that clone's image flickered before vanishing… only to reappear in front of the mutant armadillo-lizard thing, with a Giant Rasengan that is being orbited by three normal sized Rasengans in a similar manner to a moon with a planet.

The Planetary Rasengan.

So shocked was the Awakened Being, that he was unable to react in time when the clone smashed it into his face. The Rasengans collided against each other and formed into a massive and turbulent wave-like vortex!

As the Awakened Being was thrown back by the sheer velocity of the powerful attack, he was shocked to find that his armoured head and backplate was actually _failing_ to withstand it. It was grinding _through_ his armour!

"ARRGGGGH!" The Awakened Being let out an agonised roar of pain when the armour was unable to hold out against the grinding power of the Planetary Rasengan. And it _hurt_! It hurt so much!

When it dissipated, it left a large trench in the ground, and the Awakened Being was still alive. Alive, but grievously injured, purple blood was spewing profusely from its wounds and mouth. A large portion of armour and skin on his head and face looked like it was torn off, leaving much of his jaw, eye and skull exposed to the elements. The first two of his back plating had a massive crater-like dent, looking as if someone had taken a massive drill and tried to grind through it by sheer force. Purple blood was pouring out of the gap like a stream.

Groaning in pain the Awakened Being tried to get up...only for it to fall back down again. Whatever that attack was, it _hurt_. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe! His healing factor was even struggling to repair the damage! He could barely move his limbs. He didn't have enough strength to let up! The armadillo-like Awakened Being could feel his front two limbs throbbing in agony, and wouldn't be surprised if his muscles were torn and the bones were broken.

For the first time in a _very_ long time, the Awakened Being felt fear for his life. That attack almost did him in! He growled while wheezing heavily, glaring at the Shadow Clone and its creator before directing his gaze to the Claymores close to the blond who were on their hands and knees, shaking and panting. They weren't being controlled to try and kill the real one anymore, due to his concentration being broken thanks to that attack. But, if he was going to die here, then he will take as many Claymores as he can down with him! He'll force them to Awaken and make the others kill them! He will get the last laugh if he had anything to say about it!

The women he'd shackled all cried out as they felt their yoki surge against their will. Their eyes started to glow a demonic gold as their faces and then their bodies started to warp and their uniforms threatened to tear as it strained to cover their warping bodies.

"Shit!" Naruto cried out knowing damn well what this bastard was trying to do. The clone, on the other hand, was already on the move, as he too knew full well what the Awakened Being was trying to do. The clone formed anther Rasengan, though unlike the Planetary Rasengan, or the one Jiraiya used this one had four sharp white edges formed around it like a shuriken as a loud screech echoed through the air and off the mountains.

The clone had made a Rasenshuriken.

Instead of throwing it though, the clone dashed head first towards the Awakened Being and used it as a normal Rasengan by _slamming_ the Rasenshuriken into its head. As a result, the Rasenshuriken detonated and expanded in size and width, enveloping both the clone and Awakened being within the dome vortex it created while destroying the very ground around it. The clone dispelled almost immediately, the mutant armadillo-lizard thing, on the other hand, had to suffer billions upon billions of microscopic wind blades cutting through its armour, skin, muscle, nerves on a microscopic level.

The Awakened Being, while his body was intact, was dead by the time the vortex dissipated. His body couldn't handle the punishment of two high-level techniques of that calibre. And thus, his shackle on the women was cut off before they were forced over their limit.

"Son of a bitch!" The insectoid Awakened leapt back in an attempt to retreat upon seeing his colleague taken down so thoroughly. Seeing as his opponent was Jiraiya, the immortal self-regenerating zombie was on him like a frog to a bug.

"You're not getting away!" the man declared. He blazed through several hand seals and cast his technique before the creature could react, and a stream of fire shot forth from his mouth, aimed for the insectoid wings.

Fire Style: Flame Bomb, a technique that allows the user to shoot out several, flame bullets or to make a stream of fire that was akin to a flamethrower. What Jiraiya used was the latter. The snow melted and turned to water from the heat and the stream of fire spread out, covering a wide range that would have made it difficult for an ordinary person to escape from.

Of course, the insectoid took to the air with a mighty flap of his wings… only for Naruto - the real one - to intercept him via appearing behind the Awakened, and drive his foot into the Awakened Being's back. He was sent crashing down into the stream of fire with a cry of surprise and pain. Naruto added to it by blazing through several hand seals of his own, took a deep breath and exhaling out a huge gust of wind that added more fuel to the fire.

When Naruto's feet touched the ground, Jiraiya leapt on over beside him and stared into the fire with intense eyes. "Did we get him?" he asked; whatever these things were he wasn't going to let his guard down.

Naruto's eyes narrowed a slight tinge. "We got him; he's still moving in the fire, though-"

"RAAAWGH!" Naruto and Jiraiya's train of thought was interrupted as one of the warriors that had nearly awakened found herself feeling particularly vindictive. Number 24, Zelda charged forth with a mighty battle-cry, aiming to behead the remaining Awakened while he was still down. Of course, said Awakened was _still_ in the fire… so she wasn't going to have much luck with that.

"Woah, there," Naruto quickly yet carefully intercepted the woman before she could get herself hurt. "We'll handle him, okay?"

"I. Want. His. Head!" The woman viciously hissed, shaking with rage. She couldn't kill the other fucker that almost caused her to awaken so she will make due with the third one. And she could tell he was still alive in there.

"Oi! There's a time and place to be all lovey-dovey you two, but this is _not_ it!" Jiraiya called out. He hadn't moved from his spot and never heard what Naruto told her. It certainly didn't help that his godson was holding the woman by the waist, trying and succeeding to keep her in place. So it certainly painted the image of Naruto hugging the woman in comfort.

Naruto immediately corrected his mentor lest he gets the wrong idea. "Oi! I ain't being lovey dovey with her you perverted hermit! I'm trying to stop her from hurting herself! Gah!" Naruto yelped as he scooped Zelda up in a fireman's carry and leapt out of the way of a flaming bug claw that shot forth at him from within the inferno.

The insectoid would have gone to attack them, if he hadn't found himself suddenly immobilized by Jiraiya's hair that grew in length and wrapped around his torso.

If the insectoid had eyes they would be full of perplexity right about now. "What the-" He grunted in surprise when the hair, in a defiance of logic and gravity, _lifted him off the ground_ and slammed him back down again. Repeatedly. Using him like a whack-a-mole mallet. It was actually pretty funny.

Zelda, Naruto, and the rest of the 23 claymores followed the hair and only Naruto was unsurprised to see Jiraiya on all fours. The man's hair was moving by itself, like it had a mind of its own!

Jiraiya smirked and made his hair uncoil from around the Awakened Being, dropping him into the snow and it strunk to normal size, only for the man to make his hair extend around his body, and shoot a barrage of needles made of hardened hair at the Awakened Being. The hardened hair needles are strong enough to pierce through and destroy boulders. It was no surprise they did some damage to the insectoid Awakened Being. The needles actually pierced through the insectoid's armour and drew blood, but didn't go all the way through.

"Ngh… Arg… Nugh...!" The Awakened Being couldn't believe this; the barrage of hair needles actually _hurt_. They were actually tough enough to pierce his armour! Those two, they're not ordinary humans! They can't be! No human is capable of the feats they're able to do!

It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense!

"Don't hog him all to yourself!" Zelda shouted as she charged once more, her eyes aglow. Channeling her yoki through her legs she dashed forth and slashed at the insectoid's limbs as it tried to get up, lopping them off at the joints.

"Hell hath no fury, as the old saying goes," Jiraiya chuckled as the Awakened Being cried out in pain. "Guess I'll leave you to that, then." The bug wasn't going anywhere, after all, and this chick needed to let off some steam.

Zelda needed no further prompting as her cathartic butchery carried on from there.

Doing his best to ignore that, Naruto approached his old mentor who's hair had strunk back to normal and was now standing up and wiping the snow off his hands and clothes. Jiraiya looked at his godson and felt nervous, but kept it well hidden. What was he going to do now that the threats were taken care of?

"Hey, Pervy-Sage," Naruto greeted awkwardly. He could see clear as day that his man had been resurrected through Edo Tensei.

"Hey yourself, kiddo." The man replied just as awkwardly. Then he looked around for a moment before looking down at the blond with a smirk, "So…you found yourself in one hell of a mess, eh?"

The former shinobi grinned sheepishly. "You know me: I don't go looking for trouble, trouble finds me."

"You and I both, kid," Jiraiya chuckled. "Glad to see you're still okay, at least." Then, he flashed Naruto a grin the young man was all too familiar with. "So, what's this I hear about bagging yourself a local hottie?"

Naruto rolled his eyes though he had a fond look on his face. "I can introduce you. She's right over there." He pointed his thumb at the other 23 claymores who were either watching the two of them talking, or Zelda who was now cackling maniacally as she hacked and slashed the bug-like Awakened Being to pieces. With that, he gestured for Jiraiya to follow and approached the group.

"I have to admit, the architecture of the buildings is a lot different here than it is back home." Jiraiya said in an attempt to make some small talk with his godson.

"Yeah, they are. They're still familiar enough, though." Naruto agreed with the man; then he proceeded to go on and add. "No one's capable of using chakra here, though a certain group of people are capable of using a type of power called 'yoki'. It's vastly different to chakra though."

"I take it those Awakened Being things are among those that can use it?" The Toad Sage asked gesturing to the two corpses behind them.

"Yeah. Women with silver eyes and pale blonde, platinum or sandy-brown hair, like the ones in front of us, are able to use it as well. And there are demons here called youma that are able to use it too." Naruto explained to his mentor just in case he didn't know. He didn't really need to explain since Jiraiya's most likely been here a while - if not as long as he was - and would most likely know about youma and the 'silver eyed witches'.

That was confirmed when Jiraiya said. "I heard of them, the youma and 'claymores' I mean. And how they were made. I was actually expecting the latter to be something completely different."

"From how they were described, I thought that too. I'm very glad to have been proven wrong though," Naruto said with a small smile. "The way they're treated is very similar to how Jinchuuriki were treated back home, so don't be surprised if quite a bit of them are aloof and plain emotionless."

"I see…" Jiraiya mused thoughtfully.

Then, after a moment of contemplation he pulled down his mask and let the nature chakra slip back to the environment, letting his pupils go back to normal and the pigmentation around his eyes to fade away; it was about time that the other women, aside from Flora, got to see his face, he'd decided.

Though many of them had seen a hotter guy or two in their lifetimes, none of the ladies present thought he looked particularly bad. And many of them were quite pleased to see his face, since that mask he wore just made him annoyingly mysterious. While they would never admit it out loud, the whisker marks on his cheeks reminded them a little of a fox... or a cat and were tempted to rub them and see if they were real. Flora giggled and marched on up to her boyfriend as he approached. She then wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss right on his lips.

Jiraiya let out an impressed whistle as he eyed her up and down. "That's her I take it?" He had to admit she was one hell of a woman!

Naruto pulled away with his girlfriend's lips and hooked an arm around her waist. "Yeah, she's the 'local hottie', though she's the one who bagged me actually." he admitted with a sheepish grin. The blond grunted when Flora lightly shoved her elbow into his side.

"So… you're the infamous 'Pervy Sage' I heard so much about." Flora said, before snapping her head to Naruto and gave him a wide-eyed, thin-lipped look. "I thought he was dead. Or was that a lie?" Her gaze demanded answers.

"Nope, he's dead," Naruto replied.

"How can he be dead?!" Flora demanded, "He's right there!"

"It's complicated, but my home has this technique that reanimates people who are dead, and are able to do everything they were able to do when they were alive. That's why the part of his eyes that should be white are black, and why he has a bunch of cracks on him. He's immortal, now, and I mean that literally." Naruto looked to Jiraiya and asked, "So, any idea who brought you back or why?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. The last thing I remember was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. The next thing I knew, I woke up in some kind of facility and had both of my arms back. I busted my way out and found myself in a forest. I never got to ask any questions on where I was since that place was abandoned. I kept to myself, learned as much as I can and then, after...two months, I guess, I caught word you were wandering around. There's no way in hell this 'Youma Hunter' could have possibly been anyone else, after all."

"Damn. I thought I was being subtle." The blond joked.

Jiraiya let out a loud, boisterous laugh at that and gave the blond a wide grin. "Haha! It was hard tracking you down. You've gotten good at covering your tracks, brat!"

Naruto humbly rubbed the back of his head at that. "Eh-heh, well, I was trained by the best."

Jiraiya smiled brightly at that.

"As much as I hate to disrupt this heartwarming reunion," Miria said, bringing Naruto's, Jiraiya's and Flora's attention to her as she approached the three of them with a grim expression on her pretty face. "We need to devise a new course of action; now that the scout-party has been dealt with, the possibility the rest of the Awakened Beings are going to attack en masse is high."

"And what do you propose the plan to be?" Undine demanded, drawing everyone's eyes to her. "We may have the same numbers as the Awakened Beings now, but we're still outmatched. And if they have other Awakened Beings like that lizard-thing, then I don't fancy our chances."

Miria opened her mouth to answer.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

But it wasn't her who talked. Everyone brought their eyes to Naruto who was looking off to the North. He had his back to them, and the hem of his coat lightly fluttered with the wind.

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked, who was noticeably much calmer and happier now that she had gotten her pound of flesh from the insectoid Awakened Being… not that she looked like that was the case with her being utterly covered in purple gore. His corpse was lying in the snow, in pieces.

"It was a scout party. Which means they were probably sent here to test you all. That also means the rest of the Awakened Being 'army' was most likely watching from a distance. And my first attack could be seen for miles." Naruto told them.

"I think I understand," Jiraiya said; he rubbed his chin with a thoughtful frown. "Seeing as they saw that attack, they're most likely going to try and find out and kill the person capable of doing that."

"If I was in their shoes," Miria chimed in, "I'd assume it was the Youma Hunter and send in some particularly fetching Awakened females to try and seduce him. Take him out while his guard is down. Be on the lookout for that."

"Not a bad idea," Jiraiya pointed out, "And if I was in _their_ shoes, I would try and take out the leaders stationed here. Get rid of the leadership and the rest will become disorganized, and panic. They'll be easy pickings for the rest."

"In their shoes, I would send in the strongest Awakened Being I have, in that case." Naruto added. "Maybe someone fast enough to take you all by surprise, and kill you before you can react. He would have to be strong enough to take on multiple warriors at the same time as well." The blond looked at Miria and asked. "Do you have any ideas on who fits that description?"

"One who fits both would be the Silver-Eyed Lion King, Rigardo," Miria replied. "He was the Number 2 of the Lost Generation. And is rumored to have been as fast as Hysteria the Elegant."

"No idea who Hysteria is."

Miria sighed. "She was a Number One who could move so fast that she could make herself appear to phase through people like a ghost."

Naruto and Jiraiya blinked at that. Then they exchanged looks. "That sounds kinda similar to the Flying Raijin Jutsu, isn't it?" said the former.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah. That should be no problem though. Still, for someone to pull that effect off with pure speed is certainly dangerous in a number of ways. Be careful if you find yourself fighting him."

"This is me we're talking about!"

"I know. That's why I said be careful." the man told him in a deadpan. "You're always finding yourself knee deep in trouble, somehow."

"Oi! That was…" the blond paused and to the disbelief of the women, they saw Naruto counting his fingers and were thrown into even more disbelief when he went into the double digits. "...at _least_ 15 times. And most of them weren't even my fault!" he declared as if none of those things were even his fault.

"You're proving my point, brat."

"Oh yeah? At least I ain't a pervert!"

"Hey! I'm a Super Pervert! There's a difference!"

"Yeah." Naruto said with a roll of his eyes. "By peeping at women, you dirty old man."

"Oi! I don't peep! I admire from a distance!" Jiraiya defended.

"From behind a fence." the blond corrected.

Jiraiya raised his hand and opened his mouth multiple times as he tried to think of a comeback. "...Oh yeah? Well, who spent the past month training your sorry ass for the second half of the Chunin Exams, hmm? Me. Out of the goodness of my heart."

"I had to bribe you for that to happen!" Naruto immediately countered.

As Naruto and Jiraiya bantered back and forth a bewildered Helen leaned to her best friend who was equally bewildered.

"Deneve…"

The woman in question leaned back. "Yeah?"

"What's going on?"

"I have no idea." Deneve replied, though she could feel the corners of her lips twitch upwards. The mentor and disciple were literally butting heads by this point, and were pushing against each other. It was pretty funny.

"Huh…" Helen grinned, "...it's pretty funny though." and Deneve nodded in complete agreement with her.

"Pervert!"

"Slacker!"

 _Thwack!_

"Ow!" Naruto blinked when he felt someone whack him across the back of the head and pulled away to give an innocent smiling Flora a super exaggerated betrayed look. "Why?"

"Because you're being a child." She politely told him.

After a moment, Naruto and Jiraiya both looked at one another and they both sported a wide faced grin each.

"That was fun." Naruto said, and Jiraiya nodded in agreement.

"It was just like when you were younger." Naruto practically beamed up at the man when he ruffled his hair. The blond could feel himself being all bubbly and warm.

Miria cleared her throat and gave the two of them flat looks when they looked at her. How can someone capable of causing such destruction be so childish? "You two done?"

"For now, at least," Jiraiya chuckled.

Naruto cleared his throat and got back to being serious. "If this 'Rigardo' guy's gonna come, then you'd better make up some kind of plan to give yourselves the least amount of casualties as possible."

"I don't have many options, but I will come up with something." Miria said. While their chances of getting out of this wasn't as high as she'd like, despite of the display she had seen from the two of them, the woman wasn't going to put their survival solely on their shoulders. To do so would be irresponsible. No, the Task Force needed to have a backup plan just in case something goes wrong, something that will guarantee their survival.

Naruto nodded in acceptance and turned his eyes to the North of Pieta. "You'd best do that then." As for him, well if Rigardo does come, then he'll be ready for the Awakened Being. He _is_ a bigger threat to the other Awakened Beings than the claymores, and Jiraiya is an even _bigger_ one since he's a reincarnated zombie.

As for the female Awakened Beings - if there was any in this platoon - if the scenario Miria gave did happen to come true, then he'll take care of them as well.


	17. Chapter 16

While the scouts were fighting.

Several miles North of Pieta the small platoon of 24 Awakened Beings under the command of Rigardo the Sliver-Eyed Lion King and Isley of the North were 'watching on' as the one-sided slaughter went underway. Behind _them_ watching Pieta from a hill was the Abyssal One of the North himself and his second in command. Their yoki was suppressed to the point it was difficult for anyone to sense them, and that suited them just fine.

Rigardo, was a young, dark-haired man that looked to be in his early 20s and silver eyes. He wore a brown, long sleeved tunic with leather padding, grey medieval breeches, an iron plate on his right thigh fastened with a buckle, with a pair of brown boots completing the ensemble.

Isley on the other hand had a youthful, pretty boy look to him with long, silver hair. His attire consists of a pair of white medieval breeches held up with a dark silver belt and buckle, a dark long-sleeved tunic, a pair of dark grey boots and a light blue feathery cloak with metal padding on the shoulders.

"Interesting." Isley said with his head quirked to the side. "They're fighting someone, but none of the warriors defending Pieta are the ones doing it. They are sitting on the sidelines."

Not a moment later, the man's eyes grew wide in genuine shock when he and nearly everyone else on their side saw a huge dome of fire appear just outside of the settlement. And not a second later, one of the yoki signatures was snuffed out.

"To kill an Awakened with that… whoever was the cause of it has to be powerful…" While Rigardo was concerned about the person behind it, he could also feel a sense of excitement welling up inside of him. To be able to face someone so powerful in battle was getting his blood pumped in anticipation.

"Surprising, yes, but they will die all the same." In spite of his surprise Isley waved the man's concerns away. Then the man turned to the silver eyed man and said, "I want you to find the one responsible and kill them. Removing that person as an obstacle in our campaign is now a priority."

The dark haired man let out a huff and crossed his arms. "How do you want it done?" he asked with interest.

The silver haired man shrugged uncaringly. "Face that person in battle yourself. Send one or more of the more fetching female Awakens to seduce and kill them once their guard is down. I don't care. As long as the result ends with that unwelcome variable dead."

Rigardo snorted but nodded nonetheless as he went to make preparations. "I hope it's the so called 'Youma Hunter'. Maybe he'll give me a decent challenge."

Isley smiled bemusedly. "If it is him, then you may get your challenge."

Unseen by either men, a young brown-eyed, shoulder-length haired brunette was watching them. She wore an olive coloured dress, brown fingerless arm-length gloves, a pair of dark grey and brown boots, and a reddish-brown cloak with light-grey fur on the hood. She was listening in on their conversation with interest. She found that explosion to be so pretty and for a reason unknown to her, a deep part of her wants to go and find the person that caused it and…she didn't know what she wanted but something told her it was to see him for _something_.

Maybe that boy with the familiar smell she found can help her out?

* * *

After the fight was over, Miria had gotten everyone to help evacuate the population of Pieta to a town in the South so they would be out of the way of the upcoming fight. Jiraiya meanwhile had Naruto taken to a building. The building they were in was an outpost for the Organizations warriors. It was stocked up on replacement armour and uniforms and there were several bedrooms they could use to sleep or just rest.

The building in question had a main hall and is where Miria is at trying to devise some sort of plan to get them all through this suicide mission with as many survivors as possible. The other 23 were elsewhere; either comforting each other, and in the case of some of the women that almost Awakened, getting replacements for their uniforms just in case the fabric really was tearing at the seams. Others were helping with the evacuation of the civilians so that the town of Pieta would be near abandoned by the time the main army would arrive.

As for Naruto, he was in one of the bedrooms, shirtless and lying down on a bed. He was making a seal to channel his chakra, so that the seal on his abdomen was visible for Jiraiya to look over.

It had to have been years since he died, so it was understandable for the man to look it over and see if it was still functioning correctly.

"Are you _sure_ this is needed?" Naruto asked.

"If I am completely honest, it's not." Jiraiya answered with a shrug. "But it can't hurt to see if it's still functional, and if necessary, strengthen the seal."

"I understand. So what's the verdict?" The blond asked leaning his head up to look down at the man.

"It's functionally fine. Everything is working as it's meant to and looks even stronger than the last one. But the seal itself is locked up real tight." At that Jiraiya gave him godson a firm look and asked, "Is there a reason to that?"

Naruto took a deep breath and as he dropped his head on the pillow exhaled. "Yeah. There is. It's because the fox isn't in there anymore." Then the blond winced in preparation for the explosion that was to come.

He was not disappointed.

"WHAT?!" Almost immediately Jiraiya began to frantically look at the seal again and did his damned _best_ to make sure that there was nothing wrong. "WHEN DID _THIS_ HAPPEN!?" He cried out with understandable panic in his eyes.

Naruto dampened his lips and gathered his thoughts on where to start. "It happened when I found myself here in this world. I didn't have the fox in the seal anymore, but I still had its chakra. A tail's worth of it actually. That chakra was what was keeping me alive initially. So I tightened the seal so I couldn't use it. I didn't want to use it all up accidentally and die. It was a safety measure on my end." He honestly didn't know what would happen if he tried to 'feed' the chakra nature energy to replenish it or if it would even work because Kurama wasn't there to take it in. For all he knew he would make it worse! Naruto was not going to take any chances.

Hearing that Jiraiya slumped against his chair and buried his face into his hands "Oh, by the Sage…" he groaned into his palms. "Well, at least you were smart enough to make sure you didn't use it by accident."

"Heh… Yeah. Lucky me, I guess."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and the master and student both looked at it as they heard a girl timidly call out, "Is… is everything okay in there?"

"We're fine!" Naruto called out reassuringly. "Pervy Sage just had a scare is all."

"Oi! Don't call me that, you brat!" Barked the man in question.

"O-okay." the girl said through the door.

Naruto got up off the bed and quickly put on his mesh shirt before heading on over to the door. When he opened it he found the young woman on the other side wearing the same attire as all the other Silver-Eyed Witches; this girl wasn't anyone he was familiar with though. She had long, straight hair with one strand falling in front of her face. She had her hair hidden underneath the cloak itself. She had an oval, feminine face and had a shy, uncertainish demeanor about her. She was rather plane-looking, but still cute.

Naruto recognised her though. "You're one of the girls that retarded looking lizard tried to awaken!" he said in realization, then he frowned in concern as he asked, "How are you holding up? Are you okay?"

She looked at him in surprise. It took a moment for her to recover and once she did, the girl smiled. "I… I am fine. Thank you for asking." then she took a deep breath and formally introduced herself. "I am Yuma, Number 40."

"Naruto, the 'Youma Hunter'. Though I'm pretty sure I don't need to remind you that." Naruto chuckled sheepishly. He then offered Yuma his hand, and after a moment of staring she took it and shook hand his hand. "So, Number 40 eh?"

"Y-yeah. I am 7 ranks away from being theDead Last." Yuma didn't sound proud of that and would like to avoid being reminded of it very, very much. Suffice to say, a lot of people except those who are lower in rank than her didn't show the girl a lot of respect.

"Dead Last, eh? That sounds… familiar." Naruto mused reminiscently. Then he asked the young woman. "I take it you get a lot of people to look down on you because of it, then?" When she slowly nodded and looked at him with a curious, almost confused look Naruto smiled. "I know how that feels. Let me give you a little advice: rank means _nothing_ in the real world. People think you're a load? Prove them wrong. People think you're too weak, train your ass off non-stop and get stronger."

"The kid knows what he's talking about." Jiraiya added from where he saw. "You're looking at the Dead Last of his generation." that look Yuma by surprise as she looked at the blond with wide eyes. "Trust me when I say training every single day will see you improve by leaps and bounds."

"I see." Yuma was thinking on their words with a deep contemplation. Then she looked at the reincarnated shinobi and Naruto with a small smile. "Thank you for the advice."

"You're welcome." Naruto told her back with a smile of his own. With that Yuma turned and walked away with a noticeable spring in her step.

"Oh!" She stopped and turned back to look at Naruto, "I almost forgot: Captain Miria wanted me to let you know that she's having a meeting with the rest of the Task Force in a few minutes in the main hall and wants you and your mentor to be there."

"Got it. Thanks for letting me know beforehand." Naruto gave her a thumbs up at that and once that was said and done the blond slipped back into his room, and Yuma went back to her Captain.

When the door was closed the Toad Sage watched as his godson began to pace back and forth with a contemplative look on his face.

"You're not going to go, are you?" Jiraiya had a knowing look on his face.

"I...don't know." Naruto was conflicted. On one hand he wanted to go there and see what plan Miria came up with; on the other hand he wanted to go out there and bring the fight to the Awakened Beings and lay the smackdown on them before they reached the Task Force.

"If I were in your shoes, I'd go. The Awakened Beings can wait for a little bit." The man advised.

"The Awakened Beings could be coming right this second, though." Naruto countered, he paused and looked towards the window before letting out a stressful sigh. "No. They _are_ coming. I can sense all 24 of them approaching in force. They would be here in an hour or two."

Naruto was a fighter not a thinker, but if there was a fight he could solve without his fists he would take it. And Jiraiya knew that.

"That's still enough time for you to learn what kind of plan that Miria woman has." The reincarnated Toad Sage pointed out.

After a moment of contemplating, with Jiraiya being quiet in order to let his godson think, Naruto finally came to a decision. "Alright. I'll go see what plan Miria has cooked up. I'll take part in the meeting the shinobi way."

Jiraiya smiled, happy that he didn't have to try and convince his student to go.

* * *

Several minutes later, Naruto and Jiraiya both were in the main hall where the rest of the Task Face assembled. No one noticed when the Toad Sages entered the room, thanks to their ninja skills. The student and master both blended in with the shadows, and Naruto even wall-walked up to a support beam and laid down on it while he listened in to what Miria had planned. Jiraiya merely leaned up against a wall away from everyone else and no one was the wiser.

While they were evenly numbered now with the Awakened Beings, they were still outmatched by them, and despite him and Jiraiya being there as a buffer the two of them can still be defeated. And Miria knew she couldn't rely on them to bail everyone out; so she needed to have a backup plan that would give the Task Force the best chances of survival.

Thankfully, she had managed to smuggle in something to help do precisely that. She placed a little round capsule, something that caught the interest of both Naruto and Jiraiya, before her on the desk and cut it with her sword.

"All of us will take one of these before the fight," The sandy-brunette said, as she took her sword off the desk.

That captured the women's attention, piquing the curiosity of many a warrior, as well as two shinobi.

"Half a suppression tablet?" Cynthia asked with intrigue.

"Yes." The commander confirmed with a nod. "Due to the smaller dosage of the supressent tablet, we won't have to worry about our yoki being sealed off just yet. We will be able to fight as normal, but, should we lose consciousness the medicine will then kick in, resulting in our signature being hidden."

After hearing that, Naruto and Jiraiya were able to deduce what the plan was: she wanted to play dead. If they were knocked out, then they would for all intents and purposes, be dead for the Awakened Beings.

Seeing the uncertain looks that were being exchanged, Miria let out a dejected sigh. "I… I'm sorry I couldn't come up with anything better. The Organization put us all here as a bulwark to buy time. Even if the Youma Hunter and his master being here does give us a chance of somehow pulling through, there is simply little guarantee that we will get out of this alive."

"Don't sell yourself short," Helen told Miria with a reassuring tone. "This plan is better than anything most of us could come up with, I'm sure."

"It is a good plan, considering the circumstances." Naruto voiced his thoughts, taking many a women by surprise.

"Yeah." Jiraiya added concurring with his godson. "There's simply to many unknowns here. Playing dead is a good way to see at least _some_ of you survive the battle." As long as they don't get eaten that is, but the man didn't voice that.

"W-where are you?" Jean asked as she actively looked around for them.

"Around." Naruto replied, elusively. "Keep talking. Don't mind us."

Undine cleared her throat. "Eh-hem, the plan is completely fair." she pointed out. As much as the Number 11 didn't want to admit it, this _was_ a good plan to get out of an utterly fucked situation. "Be you strong or weak, you have an equal chance of surviving this mess we all found ourselves in."

"Do we know when they're coming?" One of the girls, a girl with braided pigtails, asked. She is Number 43, Juliana and is a member of Team Undine.

Naruto was the one who answered her question. "Two hours at most. An hour at the least… and there's one presence that dwarfs them all. I'm suspecting it's this 'Rigardo the Silver-Eyed Lion King' you warned me about."

"What makes you so sure?" Miria asked as her eyes slowly looked around to see if she could spot him. How was he doing that? He's hearing a red coat for crying out loud!

"Because there's one other yoki presence that's beyond even the one I mentioned. Though that one is further North and is not moving with the other 24." The blond answered.

"You're going to take him on, aren't you?" Jiraiya asked with a knowing tone. Having trained his godson personally for three years, the man knew exactly how Naruto thought.

"If he's as fast and strong as Miria said he is, then the guy will kill many of them before they have a chance to react. It's best to take him out before that happens. If Flora is killed, then I _will_ be **very** pissed." And if he can't kill this Rigardo fellow, then he'll cripple him and give these girls a fighting chance against him when he does attack them.

"Noted," Jiraiya replied. That was perfectly understandable. Though he never managed to get as far with Tsunade as Naruto did with Flora, and being unable to win her heart was at the top of his list of failures, the undead sage knew he'd feel the same way if something happened to his old love interest. "Just be careful, brat; we don't know everything he's capable of. Treat him as a Kage-level opponent for good measure."

"Got it."

"Uh… I feel a little out of the loop here. What's a 'Kage-level opponent'?" The Number 20, Queenie, a stern-looking woman with short pale-blonde hair tucked behind her pointed, elf-like ears.

"A Kage-level opponent is someone incredibly dangerous, someone who can take on an army and win, someone who can reshape entire landscapes, create valleys and destroy mountains. To put it into perspective, it's someone who's stronger than the Abyssal Ones, basically," Naruto told them.

"Uh.. right," Miria said, doing a good job of masking her nervousness. The thought of someone being stronger than the Abyssal Ones at all sent shivers up her spine… but for it to be common enough to merit a _damn protocol_ was terrifying!

"...You and your mentor are Kage-level aren't you?" Flora deadpanned, recalling the memories she had gotten from Naruto after they bumped fists - the enemies her boyfriend faced, and the renown his mentor had.

"Yes, we are." Naruto answered.

"Still better to be safe than sorry, though" Jiraiya pointed out, crossing his arms with a sagely nod. Not that anyone saw, since he was still hidden from them. "Even the strongest warriors can be bested by a novice if they get too full of themselves."

There was a flinch from Clare as those very words brought up some _very_ unwanted memories. That was very similar to how the woman she admired the most was killed, but instead of being full of herself she had let her guard down.

Then Naruto turned and rolled off the support beam and landed between a startled Zelda and Natalie, who jumped in surprise when he literally dropped in on them. Naruto stood up and wiped the imaginary dust off his sleeves before he crossed his arms. "I'd better go out there now and 'greet them' before they get here and cause all sorts of chaos."

"Want me to act as backup?" Jiraiya asked from his hiding spot.

"I'm thinking it would be better if you supported these girls here, actually," Naruto replied after a moment of contemplation. He looked at the women and said, "I'm not insulting your abilities or anything, but you're going to need all the help you can get."

"Fair enough," Jiraiya replied. He could see this being part of a two-part plan. Naruto would be the offense, sent to delay and wear out as many of these Awakened Beings as possible, and he would be the defense.

After that, Naruto covered the lower-half of his face with his mask, and before he left the room and the building altogether the blond gave the women a salute. Just as he was about to leave through the doorway, he stopped and looked back halfway from over the shoulder and said.

"You better live through this."

"...You better live through it too, I'll never forgive you if you die on me!" Flora told him as he walked out of the room.

* * *

It didn't take long for Naruto to leave the premises of the building, and almost immediately he dashed out of the settlement and headed North towards the platoon of Awakened Beings. He could tell that they were getting close to Pieta. Close to killing the 24 warriors that were within. He could sense their commander was trailing behind to keep an eye on the situation, most likely to intervene if things don't go their way..

He came to a running stop a fair distance away out of the settlement. Approximately 50 yards or so; then again, it could be more than that, Naruto was never good at measuring distances. Nor was he the thinking type. And in the distance he can hear several dozen footsteps that only grew louder with each passing minute. Then Naruto slowly looked up as he sees them. He had to hold back the smirk when he saw that three of them were had deep crater-like dents in their armour; he remembered that now - his two clones started beating the shit out of them while Lucia and Eva retreated, with two clones grabbing the then-still-alive Kate and Mila.

The Awakened Beings all came to a stop a yard away from Naruto, and they stared down at him and he up at them.

"You..." said a feminine voice; one of the few female Awakens had spoke. Naruto was pretty sure it was the one with the three heads and tentacles that spoke, since the voice came from her direction. The blond could almost hear the anticipation and a little dosage of fear, in her voice.

"Me." Naruto confirmed with a nod. "If you're going to attack Pieta, you're going to have to get through me first. And I seriously… _seriously_ hope you're a better challenge than that little scout group you sent out."

"You little pest!"

Naruto jumped and flipped out of the way of a fist that smashed into the place he once stood, throwing up snow and bits of dirt everywhere. As he spun mid-air, the blond was able to see that the fist belonged to was a giant humanoid-like Awakened Being who was protected with a bone-like exoskeleton - though he had a shit ton of tentacles coming from his mouth.

As gravity took hold, Naruto formed a Rasengan on his right hand, reared his arm back and drove the spiralling sphere into the Awakened One's hand. The male Awakened One grunted in discomfort as he felt the Rasengan grinding away at his plated hand, and yanked it out of there with a pained hiss. He just barely kept the shocked gasp from getting out when he saw the small crater and trench on the back of his hand. Purple blood was seeping from the wound like a river.

As for Naruto he leapt away as soon as his feet touched the ground and keep a close eye on them. He looked almost bored. Then they saw the colour of his irises change from baby blue, to yellow with the pupil becoming toad-like while his eyes gained an orange pigmentation. It was a near, instant change, and the Awakened Ones barely had enough time to react when Naruto bent his knees and leapt to the one that tried to crush him under his fist.

He reared his fist face and gave the Awakened Being a nasty right hook that knocked him flat on his side with a cry. A huge dent was on his face, with a fist-sized imprint right in the epicentre of it. Then he followed that up by seemingly _pushing_ off the air itself, and launched himself right at the Awakened One with his fist reared back.

Luckily for the Awakened Being, he was faster than his size would let you think, and was able to get out of the way just in the nick of time. Though he was still disoriented from the savage right hook.

And when Naruto's fist collided with the ground, where the Awakened One's head was, there was a huge explosion of dust, snow and dirt. The Awakened Beings who were the closest all jumped back out of surprise because of how unexpected it was! They could feel the vibrations in the ground from the impact! As for the Awakened Being Naruto was aiming for, the tentacles hanging from his mouth twitched nervously. That… he wasn't so sure just what he was packing, if but he was able to kill three Awakened Ones by himself, then it wouldn't be to hard of a guess to say that punch _may_ have killed him had he not dodged in time.

Then, several copies of Naruto dashed out of the smoke cloud, all of them were armed with one or two trench knives that had their cutting power enhanced by their wind chakra. While they were surprised many of them reacted in the nick of time and used their size and speed to their advantage to dispel the clones with a single, solid hit that would have killed an ordinary human.

Three Awakened Beings were unable to react in time however, and reduced to large, bloody chunks before the clones that killed them were dispelled by many a tentacle and bladed arm that ran them through the stomach.

"What the hell is he?!" the three-headed female cried out in panic as she batted the last remaining clones aside. Being a former Number 3, she was no slouch and mopped them up quite effectively. They were dispelled when they hit the ground.

"Human." Naruto answered, the smoke and dust cloud dispersed into the air to reveal...he was there. Staring at them with bored eyes. He never moved.

"Impossible! No human can do what you just did!" One of the other few female Awakened Ones cried out in denial.

Naruto looked at her. She looked like a mutant rhinoceros beetle with no less than six scythes for arms and a semi-humanoid, clearly _female_ torso - she kinda reminded him of Chomei to be honest. She was trying to buy time for one of the others to get around and blindside him, but he'll play along.

"And what makes you so sure?" He asked with his head tilted to the side.

"Because if there was then everyone would know about it!"

Then Naruto turned and grabbed the bladed arm that a male Awakened One tried to run him through with, from under the arm. Then he twisted his waist, and with a mighty cry Naruto _threw_ the Awakened One to the others. They merely leaned out of the way and allowed his body to fly past. He landed in a heap nearly ten yards away, and made a trench in the earth for another ten.

"That's true. I will give you that. But I _am_ 100 percent human." Naruto said, acting as if he hadn't thrown someone ten times his size across the clearing. "Besides, if I managed to keep myself under the radar for so long…" suddenly, his image flickered and suddenly Naruto was standing between the heads of the three headed Awakened One. She went stiff out of shock and fear when she felt him leaning against her middle head. Then Naruto leaned down to whisper into her ear, "...then what makes you think _my_ people can't do the same?"

"P-point taken," she squeaked in utter terror.

Then Naruto dropped down to the ground and was pleased to note no one was trying to attack him. The three headed one was almost shaking even. "I can sense someone who is far stronger than all of you. And I can _feel_ the bloodlust coming from him. If he wants to fight me, he can."

"That would be our captain, Rigardo," the three-headed woman pointed out after taking a deep, calming breath. "Shall I take it that you wish to challenge him in single combat?"

He shrugged and said. "Sure. As long as no one else here tries to murder me, that is." He could tell that she was in no mood to try, though a few others seemed more… eager. He'll have to keep an eye on them lest they try when his back is turned.

With a nod the female Awakened Being stepped back a few steps before turning and heading towards Rigardo.

"So…" Naruto eyed the giant sized Awakened Beings. They were completely bewildered when he gave them an eye smile and clasped his hands behind his back, "I'm going to go on a guess and say the Abyssal One of the North strong armed you into joining his army. From what I know, Awakened Beings hardly - if ever - form groups this large."

He wasn't disappointed or surprised when neither of them talked. But he could tell from their body language that he hit right on the mark. Several of them, both male and female, flinched at the accusation, while others scowled or glared at him for it.

"So, I was right." He mused aloud, as he nodded to himself. Then he focused his eyes on them and asked, "How'd he do it? Did he kick your asses, did he threaten you?"

"That's…" Naruto turned to a mutant gorilla-like Awakened Being who growled at him. "...none of your business." the Awakened One relented with a huff.

Naruto shrugged, "Alright." Then he perked up and the blond looks past them with an expectant look on his face. "Well, well, it seems Rigardo is coming." He let out a rather, gleeful chuckle while cracking his knuckles. What can he say? He likes to fight and he _really_ hopes the Lion King is as fast and strong as Miria claims him to be.

Rigardo practically appeared right in front of him, a shockwave following in his wake as he glared at Naruto. The man was still in his human form but Naruto saw his pupils being narrow slits much like a feline's.

"Rigardo, I presume?" Naruto calmly asked, and that made the man glare at him harder. The Youma Hunter wasn't afraid of him. And that just pissed him off.

His eyes started glowing demonically as spoke. "I am, Youma Hunter."

Naruto hopped over to one side as four massive gashes formed in the ground where he once stood. The claws of Rigardo's right hand formed and lashed out before reverting all before anyone watching could even register the movement.

"You're fast." Naruto complimented, and he had to hop to the other wide as four more massive gashes formed on the ground where he once stood. Then he finally got Rigardo to show surprise when the powerful Awakened One found his transformed hand grappling with Naruto's. While Naruto's arm _was_ shaking, the blond in question looked like he was barely registering it. Then Naruto casually shoved the man back. But for Rigardo he felt his boots making a trench in the snow as he was pushed back nearly ten feet away!

"Heh heh heh heh heh heh… You might actually force me to get serious for once." Naruto was _grinning_ under his mask. He could feel his blood pumping in his veins. This was going to be good!


	18. Chapter 17

As the man in front of him tried to slash him to pieces with his claws, Naruto couldn't keep himself from grinning widely under his mask. As he said before, Rigardo was fast...but he fought faster _and_ tougher opponents than him. Keeping up with him out of Sage Mode wouldn't have been easy; if he wasn't using it, he would have trouble just keeping one step ahead of him! But, Sage Mode boosted his reaction time, reflexes and awareness so much that keeping up with Rigardo using reflexes and reaction time alone was a simple task.

Hitting him on the other hand was fairly difficult, _because_ he was moving so fast… Though the Frog Kata would probably solve that little problem, if Naruto was using it. And he wasn't, for one simple reason: he wanted Rigardo to lower his guard. He was certain that the Awakened One before him was holding back as well; he was merely testing him; to see if he (Naruto) was worth bringing out all of his yoki to bare.

" _Odd eyes aside, this human's reflexes are impressive. And he is fast enough to keep up with me, even when I have Awakened just my arms."_ Rigardo was impressed, _very impressed_ , and for him it was very rare for someone to impress him. He couldn't land a hit on the human and even when he manages to get behind him, the Youma Hunter has enough awareness to realize where he is and uses his reaction time to get out of the way before he can strike, and that ends up with the ground getting marred with deep claw marks.

Because of this little back and forth exchange - or rather a cat and mouse chase - the ground around them was filled with deep claw marks, upturned chunks of earth - from when he tried to throw pieces of it at the Youma Hunter - and a _lot_ of foot tracks.

Then Naruto slipped up and Rigardo managed to land a solid hit on him with his claws. A slash to the torso had thrown the blond clear off his feet, sending him through the air. Naruto righted himself mid-air and landed on the ground in all fours. The blond let out a pained grunt, and put all his weight on his right arm as he held his chest. He hissed in pain when he felt a stinging sensation where he was hit, and withdrew his hand almost immediately. He saw his blood on his hand.

Naruto immediately looked down and saw a rather nasty looking gash and a tear in his shirt and mesh armour. It looked superficial though, and thankfully not too deep.

" _I see…he's strong enough to cut me in Sage Mode, huh?"_ Naruto thought. He looked at the silver eyed man and thinned his lips when he saw his life-fluid dripping from his claws. _"I could have achieved a similar result in a less life-threatening way, but letting him get a hit on me was the fastest way to know for sure."_ His wounds hissed and steamed as his Sage Mode enhanced healing factor kicked in, healing it in a blink of an eye. Then Naruto stood up with rolled his shoulders with a low, drawn out grunt. _"Pervy Sage was right, I need to treat him as a Kage Level Opponent."_

Rigardo quirked an eyebrow in surprise when he saw Naruto slowly getting to his feet. "You're still standing?!" Then the man's eyes grew wide in genuine surprise when the he saw unmarred, unblemished skin on his opponent. "Im...possible!" he breathed out.

How was this possible! He drew blood! He felt it! He could see it on his claw! This human should be bleeding out!

"Agh… That, that actually hurt." Naruto inhaled and exhaled and shook the blood off his hands. "My chest still stings…" he grunted, then once he was standing completely Naruto gave Rigardo a dead-serious look. "Still, letting you hit me has confirmed one thing: a lot of women protecting Pieta will die if they end up facing you." No one, except maybe Miria and definitely Flora, will be able to react to him in time if he was to suddenly show up in front of them. If he wasn't using Sage Mode when he tanked that hit, he would be a corpse right now.

"Now…" Naruto slowly raised his right fist. "Let's see how _you_ can take a hit!"

His image flickered, before he suddenly appeared right in front of Rigardo with his fist already in motion and thoroughly caught the man by surprise. Rigardo spat up purple blood when he felt Naruto punch his sternum, and he was knocked backwards like a rocket by an unbelievable amount of raw physical force. The wind was ejected roughly from his lungs when he felt the fist hit him, and when he was sent flying into a snow covered boulder. His body broke through the boulder, before he continued his path before going with the momentum and rolling onto his hand and feet. He coughed up blood. The man was pretty sure he felt a rib or two snapping. A brief spike of his yoki and his bones mended themselves, leaving him good to go once more.

He was not going to let this man do that again; Rigardo dashed forth at full speed and attempted to slice Naruto to bits. Naruto hopped, dodged and waved away from his attacks.

"Want to hear something interesting?" the blond casually asked while leaning back to avoid getting impaled.

"No." Rigardo deadpanned with a vicious snarl on his face.

"Too bad!" Naruto said with a faux cheer. "An interesting thing about our fighting styles: you need to hit me…" Then Naruto threw a punch that Rigardo easily dodged, and the man saw the smirk growing on the blond's face. "...I don't."

That was when Rigardo felt _something_ punch him on the cheek, even though he clearly dodged that attack. He was once again knocked backwards, this time towards the rest of the Awakened Beings who were observing the fight. As much as they wanted to try and dogpile the Youma Hunter, the fact he was keeping up with Rigardo hitting him with little to no effort on their point of view, gave them pause; the Silver-Eyed Lion King was an Awakened who could kill _them_ before they could react so for a mere human who can't use yoki match him in speed and blow for blow made them pause.

"Come on!" Naruto cried out. "I _know_ you can do better than this Rigardo! This fight is barely making me sweat!"

Suddenly there was an explosion of yoki from Rigardo and he appeared before him once more, only he was no longer a man. Rigardo was now a muscular silver-eyed lion-ish creature, with a wolf-like elongated snout, a mane of hair, and was now taller than him by a few meters.

This was exactly what he wanted out of the man.

Naruto quickly dodged and hopped away from the transformed Rigardo's extended claws, that were now moving at high speed. Backflipping midair, Naruto quickly threw several shivs at the Awakened Being, only for them to bounce harmlessly off his skin and into the snow, and several more to be shredded by a mere swipe of his claws. It didn't do much other than give Naruto a fraction of a couple of seconds to grab his trench knives; that was all he needed to arm himself.

Landing in a kneel with both trench knives held in a reverse grip, Naruto eyed the Lion-like being in front of him with squint eyes. Rigardo's yoki was no longer suppressed he was like a beacon to him now. And that made it easy for Naruto to track the man as he moved.

The lion-like humanoid bent his knees and a trail of snow followed after him as he dashed towards Naruto. The blond in question flipped himself out of the way, and tried to get a couple of shallow cuts in while he was at it. But the man's reflexes were impressive, because Rigardo managed to get out of arm's length of the knives just as they were about to slice through his skin.

He ended up being behind Naruto himself, his claws posed to impale him through the back. The blond was aware of the Awakened One, being behind him and so as Naruto was falling to the ground he spun around in midair to face the oncoming threat. In a blur of motion, the blond quickly parried the extended claws before they could impale him using hand-eye coordination. But the Silver-Eyed Lion King was pushing him back with his vicious, never-ending assault. The Awakened One was trying to make him slip up, to get him to leave an opening for himself to take advantage of.

It was a solid idea if nothing else; anyone but Naruto would probably have kicked the bucket by now. Unfortunately for Rigardo, though, Naruto is not the type to leave an opening in a fight unless it was a part of his plan to win. Then Rigardo got up close and personal prompting Naruto to get himself in a deadlock with the Awakened Being with his trench knives.

"You're pretty good, for a human." The silver-eyed Awakened Being said begrudgingly.

Naruto smirked under his mask. "Heh… you're not bad yourself." he complimented.

Both Naruto and Rigardo were busy trying to outdo the other in strength, and neither one was giving way. As a result the very ground they stood on started to crack as Rigardo brought out more and more of his yoki to overwhelm his opponent. Naruto, in response to this, used chakra to reinforce his arms and stick to the earth in order to hold.

* * *

Back in Pieta, a serious faced Jiraiya was standing with crossed arms while the Task Force used their yoki sensing to observe the fight. For them it was hard _not_ to; the second Rigardo pulled out his yoki, it was like a beacon had been lit.

Outside of Jiraiya, the task force was understandably nervous and fidgety and worried for Naruto. None more so than Flora. The poor woman had to physically restrain herself from running after her man and it showed.

Jiraiya looked at the worried woman from the corner of his eye for a brief moment, before letting out a sigh and stare ahead of him. "Worrying about him won't help." He told Flora.

"How can I not?!" Flora almost snapped at him out of pure worry for her man. "He's my boyfriend! And he's out there all alone with no one to help him if he gets in trouble!"

"Your worry is unfounded. He won't lose." Jiraiya told her with absolute confidence.

"What makes you so sure?" Queenie asked with many of the other women nodding in agreement.

"Simple: he's a stubborn brat and never gives up no matter what." The white haired man had a fond smile on his face now. "If anyone can pull a victory out of the most hopeless of situations, it'll be him. He's done it plenty of times in the past."

"I can believe that." Lily muttered. He took out three Awakened Beings by himself, and he is capable of making physical copies of himself. Not to mention there was that explosion of fire that killed one of them in a matter of seconds. The Youma Hunter is someone she wouldn't want to face at all.

"He can still lose though." Veronica pointed out.

"Of course he can lose," Jiraiya said with a snort. "But if there's one thing Naruto's a master at, it's deception."

"Deception?" Miria asked as that peaked her curiosity.

Jiraiya glanced at the Commander from the corner of his eye, "Naruto can make elaborate battleplans on the fly when he's fighting. If something doesn't work, he'll change it and adapt in the _middle of fighting_. If he loses, it is probably to deceive and misdirect his enemy. I saw him do it to people who has decades worth of more experience than he does." Then he looked ahead again. "If he's not bringing out his more destructive techniques it's most likely because of one thing."

"And that is?" one of the other women asked.

"...Information gathering." Flora eventually deduced and drawn everyone's attention to her. "He's trying to get intel on the enemy by holding back and forcing them to show their hand." She then gestured to Jiraiya and added. "Seeing as you're a Master spy and he was your student it's the only thing I could think of."

"And you're most likely right." Jiraiya said with a nod. "Right now, Naruto is most likely refraining from using his more powerful techniques for the sake of getting information." The Toad Sage looked at the women and said, "Seeing as your commander mentioned Rigardo to him, Naruto is most likely seeing if your claims about him are true and then some."

"Just, how strong is your apprentice?" Jean asked the man. Ever since he defeated Riful she, along with Clare and Flora were just wondering how strong Naruto really was.

At that the man gave a helpless shrug. "I was dead for a while, but the last I saw him he could hold his own. So it might have been years when I last saw him… though he looks younger now."

That garnered the man some odd looks. "... _Looks_ younger?" It was Cynthia who voiced her incredulousness.

"Yeah, when I died Naruto was 16 going on 17. He was a lot taller too and came up to my shoulder." Jiraiya said with a nod before he shrugged and added, "I have no idea how he regressed in age, though. There's a lot of techniques back home that lets you do lots of things. Disguising yourself as someone else, revert your appearance to a younger age, stuff like that." Then the Toad Sage adopted a confused look, "Though from what I saw Naruto is not using any technique to revert himself to a younger age. He _is_ for all intents and purposes, 15 years old again."

The problem with that possibility was that Naruto had no reason Jiraiya could think of to be using such a technique… unless it had been a good few decades since he last saw the brat.

"Interesting…" Flora muttered thoughtfully.

"You can disguise yourself as another person?" Miria asked with intrigue.

"Yeah. Myself and Naruto can." the man answered with a confirmed nod. "You will probably see it sooner than you think though, _if_ those things get past him…" and if that happens, he'll have to bring Shima and Fukusaku back down again, but he needs to gather a _lot_ of chakra to summon them… a lot more of it to be perfectly honest. Thankfully for him he has got that in spades since he is a reanimation.

Then Jiraiya looked to the women. "If that happens you may want to get yourselves ready a fight for your lives. Literally." He advised them with a serious look on his face.

The women all nodded, though several looked more nervous than others.

"Any advice you can give us?" Natalie asked him; being a Number 37 she is among those who are fairly weak so she was all for hearing advice. Any advice really.

"Just one: work together. I'm sure there's a few ladies among you who don't get along with each other, but you all have a higher chance of surviving as a team rather than as a single individual."

Everyone took his words into consideration; while some looked like they were swallowing a nasty pill quite a lot of them were agreeing with what the man had said. None more so than Miria, since that was the reason why she got everyone into a balanced team in the first place.

* * *

As he fought Rigardo to a fairly reasoned standstill, Naruto was in a little bit of trouble. It's nothing he can't handle though; Naruto had been in far worse situations than this. However, the problem is that Sage Mode is about to run out and he will revert back to normal. That would give the Awakened Being he was fighting with an advantage - a major advantage if he was to be honest since he would be exhausted as a side effect of using it all up.

He probably had… half a minute? Maybe less? It was around that time before he loses Sage Mode. Rigardo had gotten a few good hits on him, his clothes had tears on them showing skin _and_ blood. His blood. Fortunately his buffed up durability kept the Awakened Being from tearing him a new asshole and then some, and his healing factor had regenerated him from the wounds given to him.

That was the main cause of him about to exit it actually. He took too many hits. Fortunately, Naruto has a plan up his sleeve and if he played this right…

As for Rigardo, while he didn't show it, the lion-like Awakened One was in awe of Naruto. No matter how grievous a wound he was given, the bond simply regenerated from it and kept on going, even managing to slice back a few times though he had regenerated from the wounds the blond had given to him. And those daggers of his, odd as they are, were more durable _and_ sharper than he thought. There was some type of… energy, around the blade that made it sharper and the sharp end of the blade managed to _slice_ off the sharpened tips of his claws when he elongated them to try and catch him off guard!

Not only that he was freakishly strong; fast too; simply put Rigardo had never seen _anything_ like this before. To have a mere imatch him blow for blow, match him in strength and even surpassing him, was inconceivable...yet here it was.

He was amazing!

However, Rigardo was eagle-eyed enough to notice that the Youma Hunter, despite all his strength, stubbornness and durability, was beginning to slow down. The wounds he dealt to the masked blond was beginning to take their toll on him.

Inwardly, he grinned. The human was a good fighter. But… despite what he is capable of he was still only human.

Naruto frowned under his mask and steeled himself. One way or another, this fight was going to be over soon. ...Ten seconds left until Sage Mode runs out. The blond narrowed his eyes and put one of his trench knives away into its holder under his Sage Coat.

He still had a plan…

Then he grunted and leaned over, panting in exhaustion his Sage Mode ran out of nature chakra to sustain it. The toad-like irises and orange pigmentation around his eyes faded away reverting him back to his normal state.

"D-Damn it!" Naruto growled, almost wheezing in exhaustion. Something that Rigardo took note of immediately.

"...I see. You're no longer able to maintain that state you were using to fight me…" it was here that Rigardo gave him a rather… disturbing, toothy grin, "using it for too long tires you. And you took too long to defeat me." If whatever that empowered state was, is what allowed this human to fight him blow for blow and he is no longer able to maintain it… that just made things easier for Isley's Awakened Army.

The ground beneath Rigardo shattered as he dashed forth, claw poised to impale Naruto through the stomach. In response, Naruto quickly held up his free hand and formed a rasengan before dashing towards the silver eyed lion king.

20 yards, they closed the distance.

15 yards, Rigardo sharpened his claws as a wide, toothy grin spread across his maw. Despite being exhausted, Naruto just narrowed his eyes and sped up.

10 yards, Naruto reared his arm with the Rasengan back, and the one holding the trench knife he brought it close to his face.

5 yards. The two were just about to enter striking distance.

Then Rigardo threw his arm out to spear Naruto through the stomach; the blond in question on the other hand, leaned _down_ and under his arm before driving his Rasengan into the middle of the Awakened One's pelvis.

"Gwah!" Rigardo roared in agony as he felt the spiralling ball of energy grind through his flesh and muscle. It even went down to the bone! Blood was gushing out as the ball of energy ground away at him! It was _agonising!_ What kind of ability was this?! Baring his teeth, the Awakened Being glared down at Naruto before sticking his claws deep into the blond's side; he took sick satisfaction from Naruto's pained cry before throwing him clear across the clearing almost like a rocket; sprays of blood, red blood, flew across the air as well leaving a trail in the direction Naruto was tossed in.

The masked blond spun through the air, to fast for anyone to notice what his hands were doing before landing in the ground with snow, and dirt shooting up around him.

When the cloud dispersed, the Awakened Beings saw a small trench of snow and blood in the ground, with Naruto lying at the end of it face down. He was motionless.

After a breath of silence, Rigardo let out many-a-pained grunt as he slowly limped on over to the motionless blond. Whatever that technique that thing was, it hurt him so much it hurts to _move_. That doesn't mean he can't though. When he got to him the Awakened Being leaned down with a painful grunt and slowly turned the blond around on his back, and found his lifeless eyes blankly staring up at him.

He was dead.

Isley's second in command stared into the corpses lifeless eyes for several moments, before slowly standing up and walking away.

"We've been delayed long enough! Let's move before Isley gets impatient!" Rigardo barked.

"But what about…" One of the male Awakened Beings trailed off, looking pointedly at Naruto's body with a look of hunger in his eyes.

"Leave him be." Rigardo said, warningly. While he was pissed off that Naruto had managed to wound him in such a way, he did admit that fighting him was rather fun. He enjoyed himself and as such felt the boy deserved enough respect not to be desecrated. He may not be a warrior anymore, but he still has honour in him and this boy, this human boy, had earned his respect. And that is something not a lot of warriors can boast about. "Touch him and I'll kill you, myself."

The male Awakened Being who spoke before huffed but did as he was told. There was more opponents coming soon and an entire buffet of townies to eat afterwards!

"Now, let's go. Wipe everyone in Pieta out!" Rigardo barked before wincing in pain when his pelvic region flared. Strange… he couldn't heal himself there? No. No, he can, it's just taking a bit longer than he was expecting - his regeneration isn't that good anyway, if he loses and arm or a leg and is unable to reattach them then that limb is lost forever.

His muscle and flesh were literally ground off by that attack and it would take some time for him to regrow it. That human managed to cripple him. What a devastating technique…

/

Meanwhile, back in Pieta with the Task Force, the women were all looking off into the distance where they could feel Naruto's battle with Rigardo taking place. There was a tense atmosphere around them and then...

"...They're coming this way." Tabitha announced, gravely.

Flora trembled, hoping her boyfriend was okay but so horribly worried for him that she was about ready to throw up!.

"That means they either killed Naruto, or he was forced to retreat… it's most likely the former given who he was up against." Miria said with a trembling hand. She took a deep breath and exhaled to calm her nerves.

Flora visibly flinched at her words, though no one could blame her.

"Damn it…" While she didn't know the Youma Hunter personally, Undine didn't like the fact that they practically let the kid wander out there alone with no back up, even if she didn't say anything about it. And for their blunder he paid the ultimate price!

"Didn't he kick Riful's ass?" Helen asked in utter bewilderment. "Sure, this Rigardo-guy is fast, but still!"

"There's more to a fight than raw power," Jiraiya lectured, a solemn look on his face, hoping Naruto had managed to pull out of there in time. "Even the strongest man in the world can be beaten by someone faster than him. If they're faster and more nimble than you, then it doesn't matter if you're stronger; your strength is useless if you can't hit your opponent."

"Is that what happened to you?" Undine asked him with a deep frown, looking at the Toad Sage from the corner of her eye.

Jiraiya shook his head with a heavy sigh. "No. I faced a former student of mine who had taken a dark path. I had little to no information on what he could do, and that was what got me killed in the end. I did manage to get a coded message back home on what I learned before I croaked, though. And two people I trust were with me when I fought him so they had valuable information on what that former student of mine could do."

Flora knew who that former student was: Nagato Uzumaki, or Pain, as he was known at the time. Someone powerful enough to flatten an entire city, make a miniature _moon_ , and take on an entire army by himself. He was also someone Naruto succeeded in getting to believe in his master's ideals again, since Jiraiya's ideals were inspired by his own.

"He might not be dead though," Zelda reminded everyone. "That man did say the Youma Hunter is good at deceiving, so there is a possibility he is unconscious, but alive."

That gave Flora some hope.

"If they haven't eaten him that is." Deneve added. And just like that, her hope was somewhat dashed. "But because they are coming here almost immediately after he was defeated, it's also possible they left him alone." And once again, Flora felt hope welling up inside of her that Naruto was still alive but unconscious.

Udine grit her teeth and couldn't keep it in anymore. "...Damn it! We shouldn't have let him go alone!" She gave Miria an accusative look - because she was the highest ranking Single Digit here, Miria was the one who was in charge of them all. Everything she said they had to follow. "Why didn't you stop him before he left?! He could've helped us out here!"

Miria remained stoic, but her closing her eyes was telling.

"You all better get ready." Jiraiya reminded them as he clasped his hands together to gather chakra. "Now that… now that they got past Naruto... they're going to head here en masse. Get into your teams, and work together." He made sure no one could see or hear the anguish on his face or in his voice. He should have gone with him. He _should_ have gone with him. But, until a body has been found, he will keep thinking Naruto is still alive. He won't make the same mistake he did with Nagato and Konan.

"And protect the Captains," Clare added remembering Jiraiya's advice from earlier. "Miria, Jean, Flora, Veronica and Undine are the strongest among us - they're prime targets for the Awakened Beings."

Miria took a deep, calming breath and then addressed the crowd after opening her eyes. "Team Flora, Team Jean, you're on reserve. Everyone else is on the front lines; that includes my team."

"I'll be there with you," Jiraiya chimed in. "I'll see what I can do to help." He just needed to gather a little bit more chakra and he would be able to summon some help. They don't like being in the biting cold, but if he wanted to find his godson after this fight then desperate times call for desperate measures.

Miria stared at him in surprise. "That's… good. That's good." She said, visibly relieved. Having an immortal, constantly-regenerating zombie on their side will be a huge boon. "What will you be doing?"

"Taking some of them off your back." The man answered. "But first…" Then the man got down on one knee and slammed his palm against the ground with a cry of, "Summoning Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke enveloped the kneeling form of Jiraiya, to the surprise of the 24 women who were watching. The five teams all watched with bated breath as the smoke cloud slowly dispersed into the air.

But what surprised them was that they heard another voice.

"It's that time already, Jiraiya-boy?" He sounded like he was in his late 70s, though no one has managed to live that long to any of the womens knowledge. They tend to die to youma when they're in their mid to late 50s.

"Apparently, boss, ma'am," the man replied with a humorless chuckle. "As of right now Naruto is either MIA or KIA and the situation is grim."

"Wha!?" The woman all heard a third person speak, she too sounded like she was in her late 70s. "The lad's missin'?! When did that happen!?"

"A few minutes ago, ma'am." Jiraiya answered. "Naruto confronted the things we detected on our way here, and now they are now heading this way as we speak."

That was when the smoke cloud finally dispersed into the air and the women all saw… two small toad-like creatures sitting on Jiraiya's shoulders. The first toad sitting on his right shoulder, had dark green skin and had white hair styled in somewhat of a mohawk of all things, and very thick eyebrows and a small goatee was also wearing a high-collared cape. The second toad sitting on his left shoulder, had light green skin with purple marking around her mouth. The top of her head looks as though she is wearing a hair net with hair-rollers underneath, which had gave her a look that reminded the women of an old woman for some reason. She too was wearing a high-collared cape.

These two are Fukusaku and Shima, the Two Great Toad Sages of Mount Myoboku.

"I see… and if you summoned us, then you're planning to use Sage Mode." It wasn't hard for Fukusaku to guess; most of the time they were summoned out of Mount Myoboku by Jiraiya was to help him go into Sage Mode against some very tough opponents.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to need all the advantages I can get." As much as he dislikes to use it, Sage Mode will be useful for this upcoming battle.

"Well... they can't be any tougher than that student of yours with the rinnegan." Shima said in an attempt to sound reassuring. "Alrighty; let's get crackin'!" She and Fukusaku clasped their hands together in front of them as she said, "Pa an' I will gather the nature chakra, you balance it!"

"Got it."

And with that Jiraiya, under the eyes of 24 Claymores started to balance the nature chakra with his own as best he could. Almost immediately the women saw the physical changes. Jiraiya's appearance now had a number of toad-like traits when he went into Sage Mode; his nose had grown bigger with many warts, his teeth sharpened, and he grew a goatee. His irises became toad like and now has a reg pigmentation that extended almost across his entire face.

When he entered Safe Mode, Jiraiya's eyes grew wide almost immediately as he gasped, "Do you two sense that?"

"...Naruto-boy's still alive!" Fukusaku said after a moment of concentration.

"His chakra is worryingly low, though." Shima added before she turned to address Jiraiya directly. "Lad, we need to get to him as soon as possible!"

"I know. But there's a problem since there's 24 of those things between us and Naruto…" Jiraiya told them with a heavy frown. Then he turned to face the other women completely, and many of them recoiled from his new appearance. "Naruto will have to wait and hope that his healing factor will keep him alive. In the meantime we will be helping these women."

Fukusaku looked up at the partially transformed man. "I'd rather find Naruto-boy… but once you get an idea, you're too stubborn to change your mind."

"The sooner these 'Awakened Beings' are out of our way, the sooner we can search for Naruto," Jiraiya pointed out. He had to hope that Naruto's healing factor will keep him alive long enough for one of them to find him.

"How long until they get here?" Miria asked him after she finally managed to take her eyes off of the _talking toads_ on his shoulders.

Jiraiya turned halfway to look off into the distance for a moment, before turning back to face Miria. "Five minutes, tops."

Five minutes until they get into a fight for their lives? That gave them enough time to get themselves into position.

Miria nodded before she turned to address the teams, "Team's Flora, Jean you're on reserve, everyone else spread out into your teams; that will force the Awakened Ones to separate and will make them a little easier to deal with!"

The four teams nodded before they dashed off to take their place. Jiraiya on the other hand turned and took a spot on one of the rooftops, and turned himself invisible in order to ambush an Awakened Being or two when he gets the chance.

This was going to be one hell of a fight...


	19. Chapter 18

_Four years ago..._

 _"Hey! Hey! Pervy Sage! What are you gonna be teaching me today?" A 13-year-old Naruto Uzumaki asked his mentor with a wide-faced grin. He and Jiraiya were on a three-year training trip and are currently out in a cabin in the middle of a woods. Trees could be seen going on for miles in every direction._

 _Jiraiya was sitting on the cabin's porch and Naruto, his student and godson, was sitting cross-legged on the ground._

 _The white-haired man let out a boisterous laugh and leaned forward with his hands on his knees. "Today, I'm gonna teach you a very useful technique that will get you outta trouble." He grinned stupidly, close-eyed and all._

 _The blond rocked back and forth in excitement. "Really? What is it, what is it?!"_

 _Instead of telling him, Jiraiya decided to show him; he made several hand seals and made sure he made them slow enough for Naruto to see, and when he got to the last one Jiraiya's appearance had changed._

 _The light left Jiraiya's eyes as they dulled and blanked and his skin lost a bit of its pigmentation. Naruto wasn't good at sensing chakra either, and if he was then the blond would have noticed the man's chakra was being suppressed to the point only a very skilled sensor could detect it._

 _The sight surprised Naruto a bit and he quirked his head to the side in curiosity. "What's that?"_

 _"This is a genjutsu that alters your appearance to make you look like you're dead," Jiraiya explained as he gestured to himself. "It's useful for tricking your opponent into thinking they killed you. With it you can get yourself out of trouble, or, surprise attack them when they get close."_

 _While Naruto was interested in it, the blond pouted childishly and crossed his arms with a huff. "I can't do genjutsu though…! I have too much chakra to use 'em." He reminded the man with a grumble._

 _The Toad Sage grinned smugly at that as he cancelled the technique and his features went back to normal. "Then it's a good thing this jutsu has no limit on how much chakra you can use. It will automatically 'snuff' your chakra to the point it's near undetectable to anyone but the most skilled sensors once it's used though."_

 _That perked Naruto right up and he straightened himself up a bit now that the man captured his attention. "How should it be used?"_

 _"'Playing dead' - that's the name of the_ jutsu _\- works best if you've been 'hit' by an attack. It will also help if they've drawn blood, it would make the genjutsu look legitimate."_

 _That confused Naruto. "But, wouldn't that make the genjutsu useless then?"_

 _"Nope!" Jiraiya grinned. "The way 'Playing dead' works is that it doesn't change any injuries you have. It'll change your skin complexion the longer it's on, make your eyes 'dull', but it won't hide any of your wounds. Even better, it will work even if you're unconscious!"_

 _Naruto's eyes were positively glinting with eagerness by this point. "Oh wow! How often did you use it?"_

 _"It bailed me out of trouble many times in the past. So it was pretty often back in the day." The man replied as he rubbed the back of his fingers against his sleeve with a smug grin. "Not many people were smart enough to actually check if I was still alive or not when I used it."_

* * *

Present time...

In Alphonse, the body of Naruto Uzumaki laid in the snow, staring up at the sky with blank eyes. The blood in the trench he made when Rigardo had thrown him had long since dried up. The Awakened Beings were long gone by this point, and were fighting the Task Force in Pieta.

The faint sounds of combat, crumbling buildings, and screams could be heard coming from the besieged town of Pieta.

His thumb twitches, but the blond didn't move.

While the genjutsu made him appear as if he's dead, he was actually unconscious. His healing factor had long since kicked in and healed the injury Rigardo had dealt to him. He would still be feeling phantom pains in his side when he wakes up though… and a headache as well in thanks to the rough landing.

But that didn't change the fact that he was still unconscious and at the mercy of the elements around him. And there's still two more powerful Awakened Ones lurking around.

His thumb twitched again...and Naruto's hand slowly clenched the snow.

* * *

In Pieta…

Things were not going well for the Task Force. Out of the 24 women, only 17 were still fighting, and thanks to Naruto killing three Awakened Beings prior to getting - unknown to the girls - knocked unconscious by Rigardo, they had lost another 3, giving the opposition 18 out of 27 in total. While the half-breeds were almost evenly numbered with their enemy, they were still outmatched by them. But despite that, they were taking on the Awakened Ones one at a time and using their numbers to get an edge over them.

Jiraiya was no longer on the rooftop as he had taken a couple of Awakened Ones to another part of town to give the girls a small breather. The fact that the man was still invisible when he did it had taken a few of the Awakened Ones by surprise, but they couldn't act on it because they were beset by the warriors.

Miria bared her grit teeth as she dodged the fist of an Awakened One that smashed into the ground where she was standing. Then she, Queenie and Tabitha all attacked him together; Yuma was on her side on the ground with a gash on her front and a small puddle of blood around her.

She took a quick glance to see how the others were doing. Claudia from Undine's team was down. Wendy and Karla from Flora's team were down. Pamela and Matilda from Veronica's team were down. Them being alive or dead was unknown to the woman thanks to the yoki suppressant they all took prior to the battle.

Off to the side, next to the head of a beheaded Awakened One stood Rigardo; he was no longer in his Awakened form and was butt naked thanks to his transformation destroying his clothes. And the wound Naruto gave him prior to the fight was still there. With a pained look, the man observed the warriors that were still fighting.

"One, two, three, four, five…" He counted. "Five strong ones. Each one leading a team to face a single Awakened One and they take them down by working together. Our side has already lost 6, while they lost 7…"

Just as he said that the yoki aura's belonging to two Awakened Beings were snuffed out. "No...make that 8 loses for our side now." That made the total of Awakened Beings left 16 out of 27. His yoki began to spike as he transformed back into his Awakened Form. "Still, we cannot afford any more losses."

And when his yoki spiked, Miria was immediately alarmed as were the rest of the Captains.

"No…Rigardo the Lion... he's… HE'S HERE!" Miria shouted in genuine panic; none of them could take him on! Where was Jiraiya?! Where was he?! He's their best shot at fighting him!

Suddenly, the still injured Rigardo appeared in front of Veronica and Cynthia startling the two immensely. Veronica grew wide-eyed when she saw him glaring down at her.

"Wha-" Veronica could only stare at him in shock, wide-eyed.

"First one." He growled interruptingly, and then, Veronica was cut down before she and her teammate could react; her body sliced into three pieces. She was dead before she even felt it.

The way she was taken down had shocked the rest of the Task Force and Cynthia…

"RAAAAGH!"

She was rightfully _pissed_ off! When her Captain and friend was cut down before her, the Number 14 immediately tried to avenge her by taking off Rigardo's head. He leapt back and out of the sword's reach, however, and when he landed, the Awakened One let out a pained grunt and fell to a knee when his pelvic region flared up with pain again.

He was reminded that he still wasn't fully healed there.

"Damn it!" He grunted.

Then Rigardo quickly looked for his next target, and he moved again, albeit much slower than this time. The Lion-like Awakened One appeared behind Undine and tried to cut her down as well. Due to how slow moving he was, however, the muscular woman was able to react in time and block his claws.

Rigardo was in a stalemate…

"You managed to block my attacks? Impressive…" He praised, before overpowering her and severing the woman's arms at the elbow, shocking her immensely.

"Gah!" Undine cried out in both pain and anger, "D-dammit!"

Then Rigardo sliced her from her shoulder to waist. The woman choked on her own blood, "G-Goddamn it…" Undine wheezed as she fell to the ground on her back.

"CAPTAIN!" Deneve cried out in dismay; she dashed forth and tried to avenge the Number 11 only for the Awakened One to aim his arm towards her. The next thing that happened was Deneve getting chunks torn off her body and armour and she fell to the ground. She cried out, not in agony, but in anger - Helen had to go and bail her out before Rigardo could finish her off.

"Deneve! Deneve! Deneve!" Helen cried out a little way out of the way from the fight, her best friend was lying on the floor, bloodied and missing chunks of her body. "Hold on! J-just heal okay!"

"J-just… go and help the others." Deneve told her friend, panting with grit teeth.

Helen looked at her friend in surprise but nodded. "Y-yeah! Just lie here and heal up, I'll be back before you know it!"

And with that, Helen turned to look Rigardo's direction with a fierce glare before dashing off to rejoin the battle. Deneve let out laboured breaths as she got to work on healing herself.

"Just lie here… and heal. Lie here...and heal." The woman said to herself, raising a bloodied hand up before pressing the back of her hand against her forehead. "Damnit!" Tears of anguish and frustration began streaming down her cheeks. "Not only did I not avenge Undine, but I was unable to lay a hand on her killer!"

"He's aiming for the Captains!" Zelda cried out as she recovered from the abrupt takedowns of Veronica, Undine and Deneve. "Just like the Youma Hunter said! Protect them!"

"Where the hell is Jiraiya!?" Miria growled, her eyes were no longer silver but were a demonic gold with the irses slanted like a feline.

Rigardo meanwhile had already gone after his next target: Jean, who was with Clare and Flora.

However, because of his injury to his pelvis, the powerful Awakened One wasn't able to catch Jean by surprise or get in her face and he was immediately met with obstacles in the form of Helen, Clare and Lily who tried to defend Jean from him.

Helen and Clare tried to attack him at the same time, their faces were slightly distorted as they brought out a little over a quarter of their yoki.

"I don't have time for small fry," Rigardo growled, and with that, he effortlessly shoved Helen and Clare out of the way, his supernatural strength had thrown the two of them several yards away. Then with Lily, he gave her a devastating punch to the face that threw her back into a building with a sickening _crack!_ and then she slumped down to the ground and didn't move from her spot from it.

Jean immediately defended herself from Rigardo and deflected many of his elongated claws with the flat of her claymore. He was unrelenting in his assault, his claws attacked the eyebrowless woman in many directions and were ultimately trying to make her slip. The Awakened One would have impaled her with his clawed hand right when he got an opening and just when he was about to do so…

"RASENGAN!"

He was forced to stop his assault and leap back and out of the way when Jiraiya showed up at the very last second, dropping down from the sky with an all too familiar spiralizing ball of energy in his hand slamming into the ground. The second the Rasengan smashed into the ground, a cloud of dust and smoke shot up into the air concealing the reincarnated shinobi and relieved Jean.

Jiraiya didn't need to yell out his technique when he dropped down from the sky. By doing so he gave away his element of surprise, but the man did it for a reason: by yelling out his attack, it forced Rigardo to jump back, to disengage the obvious one-sided fight with Jean before he could kill her.

"Looks like we got here just in time, Jiraiya-boy," Fukusaku said as the three fused Sages stepped out of the dust cloud. The dust cloud itself dispersed into the air moments after he walked out of it.

"Not early enough, I'm afraid. A lot of them are dead." Jiraiya added grimly, just before he stomped the ground and cracked it under his foot. He didn't want to give this fellow the impression that many of them could still be alive - that would ruin the plan Miria came up with after all.

The man gave Rigardo the most vicious glare he had ever given and asked demandingly, "What did you do to _my_ godson?" Shima and Fukusaku were glaring at the Awakened One as well. Neither of them was afraid of the lion-humanoid. After being alive for nearly a millennium there wasn't a lot that could surprise them, let alone scare.

"G-Godson…?" The revelation that this man was the godfather of Naruto had shocked many of the still conscious women in the Task Force, but none more so than Flora. Even she didn't know that!

Rigardo paused; after seeing that weird sphere made of energy in that man's hand, the Awakened One had come to the conclusion - the right conclusion - that the man before him was also his teacher.

So, he decided to tell the truth and not sugarcoat anything. "He's dead." He told the reanimated shinobi. "And soon, you all will be joining him."

Although he could still sense his godson's chakra, even though it's being actively suppressed, Jiraiya scowled heavily and clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. Over his dead. Body. Literally at that.

"Jiraiya-boy!" Fukusaku exclaimed with dangerous eyes. Shima had followed suit and gave the Awakened One before her a vicious hiss.

"I know!" The ground cracked even more under Jiraiya's feet when he bent his knees. Then the man leapt forth with a clenched fist and bared teeth. Rigardo growled and with a pained flinch from the wound on his pelvic region, he leapt back and avoided Jiraiya's fist.

In retaliation, he got up close to the man and dug his claws into his stomach and tore it open. He, along with the still conscious women of the task force recoiled in surprise when they saw _paper_ of all things pouring out of his wound instead of blood.

What the hell?!

Then Jiraiya smashed his fist into Rigardo's maw and the Awakened One was thrown back across the clearing and into a building. Almost immediately, the hole where his stomach should be started to seal itself back up in an instant, and a very pissed off Jiraiya leapt after him.

Inside the building's front room, Rigardo grunted as he pushed off the rubble from his body. Then he looked up and rolled out of the way, pain flaring on his pelvis when he saw the now fully healed Jiraiya coming at him. He got out of the way just in time for Jiraiya's knee to utterly _shatter_ the ground upon impact, and dust, dirt and splinters shot up everywhere. Rigardo was thrown back, yet again, into a wall only this time the Awakened One managed to stay on his feet.

His pelvis flared with pain again, this time it was even greater than before. That boy did a number on him; it was taking what felt like a damn eternity to heal back up! Were it not for that, this fight would have ended a long time ago!

Jiraiya then stepped out of the dust cloud with his sharp teeth bared at Rigardo.

"Lad! Look there!" Shima said, drawing Jiraiya and Fukusaku's attention to the still-healing wound on Rigardo's pelvic region.

Jiraiya let out a smirk, "Heh. Looks like someone's not fighting to their full capacity." And he knew what kind of attack leaves a wound like that.

"It looks like Naruto-boy managed to hurt him bad before he was taken out," Fukusaku observed with squinted eyes.

"Which makes our job easier!" Jiraiya yelled with a fierce, terrifying grin. Then he moved and Rigardo had to lean to the side to avoid the fist that punched the wall behind him… and blowing it right off.

The lion got in another hit, this time lengthening his claws and controlling them to stab Jiraiya up through his chin and skull and ripping off his entire face. Jiraiya healed near instanously as he retaliated by grabbing the lion by the neck and tossing him out of the building and into another one. He followed after him, stopped, and Shima opened her mouth and shot out her rapidly growing tongue that grew closed eyes, a mouth, and several warts. That tongue proceeded to coil around Rigardo's arms and torso and toss him out of the other building, through the wall, and back into the battlefield.

Rigardo rolled and skid along the ground before regaining his momentum and rolled to a stop up onto his hands and knees. The impact hurt his wound more than he would care to admit: it was starting to bleed again.

He heard Jiraiya stepping out of the other building and he looked up at him with a snarl and glare. "What the hell are you?! No one, not even those claymores would have survived getting their entire face ripped off as I did to you!"

"I am the product of the Impure World Reincarnation." Jiraiya brought up his hand to look at it, at the cracks. "A deceased warrior brought back to the world of the living through a living sacrifice. No matter what you do to me, no matter how much damage you've dealt me, I will keep on regenerating and I will keep on coming." He gave the Awakened One a narrow-eyed glare. "I can't die. And you have no way to keep me down - the only one who had the possibility of keeping me down was the one _you_ had killed."

Rigardo roared defiantly, much like the lion he resembled and sashed forth, looking to test that claim. If he failed, Isley would kill him, so it wasn't like he had any choice but to keep on going. If what Jiraiya said was true, then he was going to die, either way, so he might as well go down fighting!

Before Jiraiya could react, he felt something prick his forehead and then there was a sudden, sharp pain as Rigardo bisected him down the middle. While his Sage Mode was incomplete, he had to admit that was impressive; he can see how his godson had been defeated by him. The man quickly regenerated from the inflicted wound. Jiraiya then grabbed the wrist belonging to the gobsmacked Rigardo, and all male Awakened Beings in the vicinity winced when the reincarnated Shinobi brought his foot up and kicked the lion-like Awakened on the groin in between his thighs.

Rigardo roared in pain and indignation at that, trying to pry his wrist from Jiraiya's grasp as his claws lashed out all at once. His attack would have _slaughtered_ anyone else.

"I told you: I will keep regenerating," Jiraiya said as he regenerated over and over and over again from the inflicted injuries given by those claws. Neither he, Shima, or Fukusaku noticed his regeneration was getting a little slow as the assault continued. It was still shockingly fast, however, so it was not surprising they didn't notice.

Then Jiraiya opened his mouth and chomped down on Rigardo's wrist when it got close to punching him again, and tore out a chunk of his flesh and muscle with his sharpened teeth. The Awakened Being let out a roar of pain as purple blood gushed out of the hole on his wrist. He staggered back and focused on healing it while glaring at the man who spat out the putrid flesh like it was rotten meat.

"Impressive powers of recovery," Fukusaku observantly said as he watched the chunk of missing muscle and flesh heal rapidly before their eyes.

"Yeah. I can see how Naruto had trouble with him." Jiraiya agreed.

Rigardo appeared in front of him again, ignoring the pain flaring aggressively around his pelvis, and bisected Jiraiya again cutting the man into three pieces as he did to Veronica. He fell on his back with a grunt; Rigardo didn't stop there though he kept attacking the man while he was down, trying his damnedest to put the dead ninja down for good. He completely ignored Fukusaku and Shima however as he was more focused on the man instead of them. Jiraiya was a much, much bigger threat. It was around this point that Jiraiya finally took notice that his regeneration was beginning to slow down. It was still fast but it was nowhere as instant as before.

The second his legs were healed and reattached, Jiraiya bent his knees, and kicked the still attacking Rigardo away from him. The Awakened One was thrown back 5 yards away before coming to a sliding stop. Jiraiya kicked himself up with a flip and looked at himself with a concerned frown. He was still healing, but it was noticeably slower now.

"Are you okay, Jiraiya-boy?" Fukusaku asked in concern, having noticed it as well.

"Yeah, boss. I am. I don't feel any different." His arm regenerated completely and he turned his hand. "My chakra is still normal."

"Could there be a limit as to how much damage you can take, lad?" Shima asked.

"None that I'm aware of," Jiraiya replied with a thoughtful frown. "I studied the Second's technique a while back, just in case it was used against us again. This shouldn't be happening to my knowledge."

It's entirely possible that whoever brought him out of the Pure Land had put a fail safe on him. Outside of Naruto, no one else in this world is capable of using chakra, he's also unstoppable since he can just regenerate from anything; from cuts, to wounds, to dismemberment, to bisection. So that means outside of Naruto - who can seal him - this world has no way of stopping him permanently.

Either way, his healing slowing down like this only served as incentive to end this fight as swiftly and effectively as possible.

With that in mind, Jiraiya straightened up and prepared for the fight of his un-life.

* * *

While Jiraiya was fighting Rigardo, everyone else was still fighting for their lives. For Miria, this is especially hard because everyone around her was falling like flies as they were getting separated and double teamed.

Team Undine was nearly gone, Deneve was still standing at this point as she had recovered from her wounds inflicted by Rigardo. And Zelda was still standing, though had it not been for Tabitha, who shoved her out of the way of an attack in the nick of time, she would have been on the ground in a puddle of her own blood by now.

Team Jean had also suffered a near total party wipe, having lost Eliza, Emelia, Diana and Natalie.

Team Flora had lost Lily, leaving Clare and Flora the last ones standing in that team.

She herself had suffered a near total party wipe as well, having lost Tabitha and Queenie. The former who took the blow for Zelda after shoving her out of its way.

Team Veronica hasn't lost anyone else, yet. But the last members of that team Helen and Cynthia were now helping her Miria and Team Flora out.

They lost 17 members of the Task Force in a matter of minutes. Out of 24, only 8 were still combat ready. While her Task Force was falling like flies around her, Miria had mentally noted that Isley's army had suffered very minimal losses during those minutes - only one dead and a few injuries here and there. Miria had a feeling if Naruto was still around they would be having a much better time with this.

Hell, they might have actually won!

But, he wasn't here… and to say that Flora was acting irrationally as a result would be one hell of an understatement. The usually-kind and soft-spoken woman, Miria noted, had gone into a rage when she heard Rigardo bluntly state that her boyfriend was dead and there was no getting her out of it. The unbridled fury she exhibited was so sudden and out of character that even several warriors and awakened beings alike were legitimately _scared_ of her, especially after she single-handedly reduced a titan-sized Awakened to ground beef.

Even Miria was more worried about her than anyone else. At this rate, the woman scorned risked going over her limit.

"Clare," Miria called out, "Do what you can to keep your captain from Awakening, for the love of all that is pure and sacred!" That was the _last_ thing they needed, right now! Though her rampage had given them one less Awakened Being to worry about and injured several others, the thought of Flora's rage and grief sending her over the edge made the Number 6 worry for their lives. "Helen, Deneve, cover them and try to keep Flora from getting herself killed!"

"I WILL _MURDER-FUCK_ YOU ALL!" A vengeful Flora screamed as she chased one frightened Awakened One away with murderous eyes. It would have been a comical sight if not for the circumstances.

"Easier said than done! She's completely lost it!" Helen shouted, then yelped when she was forced to dodge some blades that tried to bisect her.

Then Rigardo was blown through a building and crashed into that Awakened One, knocking him off his feet and through another one. Jiraiya, who was now missing an arm, the lower half of his face, and a huge chunk of his torso, sped past the bewildered Helen as he chased after the lion-like Awakened. Paper spilt out of his wounds as it left a trail in his wake. The man was also regenerating much slower now. Fukusaku and Shima were no longer on his shoulders as well, having been sent back by Jiraiya to Mount Myoboku. The reincarnated Toad Sage didn't want them to go through any unnecessary risks since they were of great importance to Mount Myoboku.

When Jiraiya got to Rigardo, he Spartan kicked the Awakened One through the walls of a nearby house, and followed him out of it, as the building collapsed on top of the other unlucky Awakened Being.

"Just keep her from losing it any more than she already has!" Miria shouted.

"GET BACK HERE YOU FUCKING SONOFABITCH! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" Flora screamed like a rabid dog. Her eyes were aglow with yoki, and were now a demonic gold with vertical slits for pupils, like a feline.

"FLORA!" Clare cried out with wide eyes, as her captain got further and further away from the rest of the group. "Damn it! She's being lured away from us and she's too angry to realize it!" The woman looked at Helen and Deneve and said, "We need to get her back here before she gets herself killed, c'mon!"

"Aye! C'mon Deneve, let's go get Flora before she does something stupid!" Without waiting for an answer the spirited woman dashed after the enraged Number 8. Deneve followed after her best friend without a word and Clare chased after them as well. She didn't want to leave Jean or Miria by themselves either, but they had Zelda and Cynthia with them.

She hoped being separated from them won't end up being their downfall…

The remaining Awakened Beings steered clear of the clash between Jiraiya and Rigardo as the two of them continued to duke it out. The latter roared in pain as he was lit ablaze by a massive fireball. The wound that Naruto had given him was only getting worse as their fight continued and the undead sage was taking full advantage of that. But now that he was no longer taking in nature chakra, the man was taking hits too. He was much slower, and his healing was clearly not as fast as before. That was something Rigardo was taking full advantage of whenever he gets the chance.

When Rigardo was lit ablaze, he returned it by spearing the undead sage through the stomach. Jiraiya retaliated by headbutting him and punching the Awakened One in the pelvis, where his godson had wounded him. And when Rigardo roared in pain from both attacks, the latter being much worse than the former, he pulled out his hand from the man's stomach.

The man now had a massive hole in his stomach. Combined with his missing arm, the lower half of his face, chunks of his torso and now the hole in his stomach, the man looked like he was on his last legs and would keel over any moment. But still, he pressed on.

Blood gushed from a wide-eyed Cynthia's shoulders and pauldrons. She dropped to the ground like a puppet having its strings cut an awakened being with blades for hands had her blood on them. Jean was next; blood sprayed from her shoulder to her waist and she too dropped like a brick. Zelda cried out in distress upon realizing that she and Miria were the only ones in the area.

"C-captain," she shouted, "we need to retreat!"

Just then, Rigardo was thrown into a heap before them. And the next thing they knew, a heavily-wounded Jiraiya - who was now missing even more of his torso - was in front of them, driving a full-powered Giant Rasengan into his head. Rigardo's entire body twitched and spasmed as his entire head was grounded down to a bloody paste.

Just as relief washed over the Number 24, her hopes were dashed; the instant his technique dissipated, a wooden coffin appeared behind him and Jiraiya blinked at it for a moment as he read the kanji.

"Huh… it looks like… I took too much damage." Jiraiya said, talking even though he had no jaw, or tongue for that matter. He looked at Zelda and Miria apologetically, "I'm... _really_ sorry." Then the coffin's door opened and he was snatched up by it; the door closed and the box disappeared with him, soon after.

"...Helen, Flora, Deneve and Clare are down." A now shaking Miria added moments after the coffin disappeared.

They were alone.

"C-Captain…" Zelda took a deep breath and resigned herself to what may possibly her death. "...it was an honour." The Awakened Beings menacingly loomed over them.

"...the honour was-"

Pain struck them as they felt their blood gushing out of their wounds… and they dropped like sacks of bricks.

* * *

Once the last embers of resistance were snuffed out, the remaining Awakened Beings left the ruins of Pieta. Out of the 27 Awakened Beings, only 13 of them were left. Isley of the North and two others left the North shortly afterwards, one being a certain boy that Clare was searching for, and the other being a deceptively powerful Awakened who surpassed the Abyssals in power. A brunette by the name of Priscilla.

The 13 Awakened Beings split into two groups: 6 would be heading to the West to attack Riful and 7 would head on to the East to attack the Organization. Isley on the other hand, unknown to his army, would be heading to the South… to take it from Luciela.

His army was just a distraction and before any of them realize what's happening, it'll be too late.


	20. Chapter 19

Everything was deathly silent in the mountains of Alphonse. Further out in the North, partially covered in snow laid one Naruto Uzumaki. His eyes were still blank and lifeless and his skin was a pale white.

That was until...

"GAH!" a high pitched _totally_ masculine scream echoed off the mountains.

Naruto abruptly cried out when he awoke and quickly sat up, throwing off the snow that had settled on him, only to hiss in discomfort when he felt how stiff his body was. Like a mirage was just lifted, life returned to his eyes and his skin regained its complexion. The blond looked around and found himself in a mountain pass with ruins to his left.

With a grunt Naruto quickly pushed himself up on his feet and stared in the ruined town that _was_ Pieta. A deep pit formed in his stomach. Pieta was in ruins, he was expecting that much to happen… but he couldn't sense anything. No yoki from the Task Force, or any Awakened Beings. Granted he was expecting being unable to sense yoki from the Task Force since they took half of that suppression pill… but he was expecting to feel the Awakened Beings still in the area. How long had he been out?

"Okay… deep breaths, Naruto. There could still be survivors here. I just need to find 'em." And where's Pervy Sage? Shouldn't he have come for him as soon as the battle was over? He'd have to look into that later. Right now, he needed to look for survivors. "Since I can't sense their yoki, I'll have to check on them the old-fashioned way, I guess…"

And with that Naruto went to the ruins to search for survivors… after reactivating those heating seals of his again. He was freezing his _butt_ off right now! It didn't help he had his own blood on him, but in the heat of the moment Naruto kinda forgot that he had been injured before applying that genjutsu Pervy Sage taught him all those years ago.

* * *

Back in their little hideout, Eva paced back and forth like a caged lioness. Never in her life did she feel so guilty… so helpless… so ashamed! She should have been down there helping all those poor women who just came there to die, all those poor villagers who undoubtedly suffered such a gruesome fate!

But… her fear had gotten the better of her. She simply couldn't.

Though it was probably for the best, seeing how she was an offensive-class warrior with a missing arm, the woman simply couldn't help but feel the way she did.

"Everything's quiet." Lucia said, drawing Eva's attention to her. The Number 12 was leaning against a wall, looking outside. The snowy mountains of Alphonse had greeted her. "We should check if anyone has survived. Knowing Miria, she probably made some sort of plan to get as many people through that massacre as possible." That and she wanted to make sure Naruto was okay.

Eva sighed and nodded. While she doubted that any actually did survive, the least she could do was give the women a proper burial.

* * *

As he ventured forth towards the centre of what was Pieta, Naruto came to a stop when he sensed two heavily suppressed yoki signatures approaching. Apparently, Eva and Lucia were coming out of hiding. Strange, he thought they were heading to the West when his clone got them out of Pieta before the first battle. They must have stuck around after the clone dispelled; well, he wasn't going to object having some more help. Naruto changed direction and headed directly for them.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for them to converge and when they did, Naruto yelped and chuckled when Lucia glomped him. Eva rolled her eyes, mildly amused. If nothing else, it put a much-needed smile on her face.

"Glad to see the two of you," Naruto said, rubbing Lucia's back.

"I simply had to check on you," Lucia replied, hugging him tightly. "I simply couldn't live with myself if I learned that you died."

"More than a little roughed up, but I'm okay," Naruto assured, giving her a peck on the forehead. "Miria had the girls take half a yoki suppressant before the second fight so they could play dead when they were knocked out. You wanna help me check on them?"

Lucia's eyes lit up at that. "I knew Miria had some kinda plan! I'd be happy to help!"

"You saved my life," Eva added, "I'm with you wherever you go until I can repay you."

Naruto nodded. "Okay. Follow me you two." With that, he turned and headed back in the direction of Pieta with Eva and Lucia following him. "With their yoki suppressant, they will look like they're dead at first glance. So we'll have to see if there are any survivors the old fashioned way."

"Got it," Lucia said with a nod. She could do that… rather well, actually, after having been trained to pose as a nurse a few years back.

"What about you? Are you well?" Eva asked in concern, having seen Naruto covered in his own blood. And he had a slash mark on the front of his shirt. He was also walking with a bit of a limp… and not the good kind.

"I'm fine. I got into a fight with Rigardo the Silver Eyed Lion King, and he knocked me out. I used a technique to make it seem I was killed. It helped I was bleeding at the time I cast it, so it helped me out in the long run. The wounds he gave me sting like a bitch, mind you, but that's the worst of it." His side still felt a bit raw, to be honest, but that's because his healing factor isn't as strong as it used to be without Kurama. That and his seal containing the chakra of Kurama was locked up tight still.

"Well… if you're sure." Eva trailed off unsurely.

"I am. You have nothing to worry about." The blond reassured her with a pat on the shoulder. Naruto then looked at her missing arm and frowned. He still has access to Six Paths Sage Mode thanks to Hagoromo giving him his chakra...maybe he can regrow it?

As they approached the battlefield, the trio winced at the corpse of Veronica. The woman was clearly dead, having been literally chopped to bits. With a heavy sigh, Naruto knelt down to close her eyes, only to recoil a bit when he felt something akin to an electric shock race up his arm. He withdrew like he had been shocked and looked at his hand. Strange.

A static shock, maybe?

Naruto shrugged and reached down a second time. This time, there was no shock and he closed the woman's eyes respectfully. Giving the woman a short prayer, he then made a clone to give the fallen warrior a proper burial. With that out of the way, Naruto, Lucia, and Eva carried on.

It wasn't long for them to find more bodies. Bodies belonging to Awakened Beings and claymores. And Naruto found Rigardo's headless corpse in front of the bodies of Miria, Zelda, Jean and Cynthia

Almost immediately, Lucia scampered on up to check on them. Naruto and Eva followed suit but not before the former gave Rigardo's corpse a kick in the ribcage. It was mainly out of childish spite.

"They're breathing," Lucia announced excitedly. "All four of them are breathing!"

"In that case," Naruto slowly got down on one knee beside Miria with a grunt, and pressed his hand on her chest. "I'll wake them up." And with that the blond sent a surge of chakra into Miria's body, shocking her awake.

"GAH!"

Naruto leaned back just in time to evade the woman's startled uppercut. "Welcome back," he said with a chuckle."

"N-Naruto?" Miria couldn't help but stare at him with a sense of disbelief...and immense relief. "Y-you're alive?"

"Very much so." The blond answered with a nod. "I'll… explain in a moment. I need to wake the others up." Then he went over to Zelda and pressed his hand against her chest and did the same thing he did for Miria, and Zelda woke up with a startled cry when she felt his chakra kick-starting her awake. He did the same for Cynthia and Jean, though those two woke jumped awake without making a noise, though when they saw Naruto standing over them they felt relief and also confusion wash over them.

"How… how are you alive? Rigardo said you were dead!" Zelda said in disbelief. Was she… truly dead? Was this some kind of afterlife?

"Rigardo saw what I wanted him to see," Naruto told the woman, and since Miria, Cynthia, and Jean was there they heard what he said as well. "I was taught a technique that lets me play dead. It works even when I'm knocked out. And, that lion wannabe drew blood so when I used that technique before getting knocked out, it looked like I was dead. Thank god no one was smart enough to actually check." Then he looked to Eva and Lucia who had gone unnoticed by them. "Eva, Lucia, keep searching for more survivors."

"On it!" Lucia chirped.

"Wha…" Miria's mouth opened and closed as she stared at two women who, by all rights, should be dead. Number 7, Eva and Number 12, Lucia who had been said to have died in the North. She quickly noted that the former was missing an arm and gave Naruto a shocked but expectant look. Somehow, she _knew_ he had something to do with them being there!

"I uh… I suppose I should explain their survival, huh?"

Miria gave him a 'what do you think' look. "You think?" She deadpanned, with Cynthia, Zelda, and Jean all nodding in agreement.

"Well… during the days Flora and I were in Lydd with you, I actually sent a clone of myself to the North to check on Lucia."

"A… clone?"

"It's a technique I can do that lets me make solid copies of myself and can do everything the original can," Naruto explained. Then he paused… how come he didn't use that to outnumber Rigardo?

"Why didn't you use it against Rigardo then? Wouldn't have that put the odds in your favour?" Cynthia asked, unknowingly asking that very question Naruto was asking himself.

"While they can do everything I can, my power is split evenly with every clone I make. They're also easily dispelled; a good enough whack can put them out. So, it probably wouldn't have mattered in the long run against someone like Rigardo." Naruto explained, but he can't help but wonder if it would have made a difference. If he had left back a clone or two to gather Nature Chakra for him, he would've had that fight in the bag!

Naruto sighed, knowing damn well those questions would haunt him for the rest of his days. He cleared his throat and continued where he left off. "Anyway, back to the point: I made one to go check on Lucia. By the time he got there, a… week later, I believe? Lucia's team was in trouble, two of her team was already cut down and at near death; Eva had just gotten her arm chopped off. The clone bailed them out and made two other clones to get the other two out of dodge… as you can see, only Lucia and Eva survived. The other two died later on."

He wondered what happened to that arm of hers anyway? Was it still there on the battlefield? Maybe he could find it and find a way to reattach it? Long shot of the century though it may be, Naruto felt it was at least worth a try. Since it was frozen, it'll be preserved… but still a long shot.

"Naruto! I found a couple of more!" Eva called out.

"Same here!" Lucia added.

"On my way!" He answered them. Then he stood up and searched for more survivors. With Miria, Cynthia, Zelda, and Jean all pitching in.

While they did find bodies, they also found survivors and Naruto slowly woke them up one by one until the rest of them woke up by themselves - one of whom being Flora, which had a rather… spectacular, if somewhat predictable result.

"NARUTO!" Flora wailed, bawling her eyes out as she tackled her boyfriend.

"ACK!" So surprised was he that Naruto had been knocked down on his back as his girlfriend straddled him and hugged him to her like a plushie. He hugged her back, staying put as he tried to comfort his frantic girlfriend.

"YOU'RE ALIVE! RI-RIGARDO SAID YOU WERE DEAD! WAHAHAHAHAAAAAAH!" The woman cried.

"You have no idea how much hell she put everyone through when she thought you were dead," Clare sighed. "I had to pull her back from Awakening _three_ damn times before I passed out from exhaustion."

Fortunately, Flora was knocked out soon after. Were it not for that three-headed female with the tentacles throwing her into a nearby building, then Flora would... not be as safe here, to put it lightly.

"Thank you," Naruto replied, truly grateful. Though he made a promise to kill Flora had she Awakened, the blond didn't think he could go through with it. Looking down towards his still-frantic girlfriend, he couldn't help but notice a visible streak of red in her hair… and it wasn't blood.

How strange…

Though he couldn't help but have a pit form in his stomach. "Flora, can you look at me for a moment?" He asked her.

Forcing herself to calm down, the woman sniffled and nodded. Taking a few deep breaths for good measure, Flora pushed herself up slightly and did as requested.

He exhaled with relief. "You have a streak of red in your hair but you still have silver eyes. That's good."

Flora looked utterly shocked to hear that and frantically checked herself. True to her boyfriend's word, there was a streak of red now dyed into her hair, just to the right of her face, She averted her gaze and fidgetted nervously.

Naruto knew damn well what she was feeling and pulled her down into a tight hug. "It's okay," he assured. "I'm sorry I made you worry so much."

Flora didn't say a word, frowning deeply, but returning the hug and snuggling up to his chest. After that Naruto looked around did a head count of who was alive.

Miria, Queenie, Yuma, and Tabitha. That's four.

Flora, Clare, Wendy, and Lily. That's eight.

Jean and Natalie. That's ten.

Deneve, Zelda, and Juliana. That's thirteen.

Cynthia and Helen. That's fifteen.

"Fifteen out of twenty four of you are alive." Naruto said.

"Yeah," Miria said solemnly. She wished she could save everyone, but knew that was hoping for the impossible.

"So… what now?" Juliana asked.

"Right now, it's safe to assume all of you are considered dead by the Organization. Even me. Given how many of those Awakened Beings there were, it's safe to assume the North no longer has any life within it." Naruto told them. When he was keeping an eye on the Awakened Beings in Sage Mode he never sensed anyone else beyond them. And now that he thought back on it that was not a good sign.

If he had anything to say about it, he would tell them to go into hiding and train their pretty asses off until they're ready to come back out again.

And it turns out great minds think alike.

"We should go into hiding," Miria stated. "Hide and train ourselves until we are strong enough to defeat most single digits."

"I approve," Naruto chuckled. Then he remembered something, the lack of a certain perverted Toad Safe. "By the way, what happened to Pervy Sage? Why isn't he here?" he asked, looking around for him.

"After he killed Rigardo, a coffin appeared out of nowhere... and... snatched him up," Zelda replied awkwardly, visibly having a hard time believing her own words.

"He said he took too much damage before it… took him away." Miria added.

Naruto blinked at that. "Oh. That's… odd. A reincarnated warrior taking too much damage shouldn't be a factor since they'd just regenerate from it. Unless you seal them away they're unstoppable-" he paused before realization dawned on him. " _Oh_ …I think I know what happened. Whoever brought Pervy Sage here must've added a fail safe of some type."

"A… fail safe?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I explained it to you all, but I'll explain it again just in case: back home the Impure World Reincarnation is a technique that lets you bring back a deceased warrior through a ritual and a living sacrifice." Naruto paused to make sure they were all following him and when he was sure they were, the blond continued. "That warrior who was brought back has all their previous experiences, their memories and techniques they had in life. They can never die. They don't have to rest, sleep or eat. They have an infinite well of power that can never run out, and, they can heal from any injuries you inflict. So unless you can seal them they are quite literally unstoppable."

Everyone went ashen-faced at that. Having to fight against something like that would be… nightmare inducing. And Jiraiya's like that?!

"However, since no one but me can stop Jiraiya, it seems whoever brought him back had the foresight to add in a fail-safe, and it seems he gets sealed away automatically whenever he takes too much damage. I could be wrong, but it's the only explanation I can think of."

"Duly noted," Miria replied with a nod.

Then Naruto let out a shiver. "We should probably get to someplace more… warm. You may not be able to feel the cold, but I do." And away from the bodies - they already buried the fallen and used their claymores as grave markers.

"We should probably send out a scouting party to find a suitable shelter," Jean chimed in.

Naruto nodded and put his fingers into a cross seal. "Consider it done." Just then, a small group of Naruto clones appeared around the couple in poofs of smoke, surprising the 15 women immensely. One clone gave them a cheeky two-fingered salute before he and the others dashed away to find a shelter.

While his doppelgangers were busy with that, Naruto turned to the women and asked, "So, does anyone need anything?"

"More snuggles," Flora buttered somewhat grumpily. After going batshit crazy, thinking her man had gotten himself killed, the woman understandably needed some attention.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at that if his life depended on it as he hugged her tight and rubbed her back. Then he sat up with a grunt, and stood up and held Flora in a bridal carry - said woman squawking in surprise at the sudden movement.

The blond addressed Miria, "I never mentioned this before but, a while ago, when I was keeping an eye on those Awakened Beings, I couldn't sense anything beyond them." He revealed.

"Eh?! What do you mean by that?!" Helen asked, no she _demanded_ with a look of expectancy on her pretty face. The other survivors were surprised as well.

"It's exactly as it sounds," Naruto said.

"Given how many Awakened Beings there are, he _did_ say it is safe to assume that the North is now a winter waste," Miria chimed in. "I agree with him in that assessment, though it wouldn't hurt to check and make sure. Better safe than sorry."

"I can go back into Sage Mode and double check if you want?" Naruto offered. It won't hurt double checking; he could have been sensing things wrong after all.

"Please do," Miria replied with a polite smile.

"Alright." Naruto closed his eyes and went completely still. An orange pigmentation appeared around his eyes a moment later, and when he opened his eyelids the women all saw Naruto's eyes had changed. Helen and Deneve had already seen it before so they weren't as surprised - the other's though were staring at his toad-like eyes with wonder.

After a moment of silence and concentration, Naruto finally spoke his findings. "...There's nothing beyond the ruins of this town. We're the only ones here."

"Good to know," Miria chirped. She meant about them being alone. Not that pretty much every other town beyond this point were either eaten whole or abandoned.

"What does that even do?" Juliana asked, she was genuinely curious about what Sage Mode can do, but the way she phrased her question came off as far more rude than intended. Since he explained a little bit of it to Helen and Deneve, Naruto thought it wouldn't hurt to explain it to all of them now that things were much calmer.

"It's an empowered state he can go into. It can give him a boost in pretty much everything." Deneve answered just as Naruto opened his mouth to answer.

Blinking Naruto looked at the pixie-haired woman some with a degree of surprise. "You've been paying attention." He smiled at her. "That's good." then he brought his gaze back to Juliana and said, "But yeah, Sage Mode boosts pretty much everything. My physical strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, perception, and durability are enhanced. My attacks and techniques are more powerful. And I get the ability to manipulate nature energy, which in my case, allows me to make it an extension of my body. So while you have to hit me, I don't have to hit you."

"Damn," Zelda chimed in, looking just a bit jealous. "Might as well add an inch to your dick every time you use it at that rate. Anything it _doesn't_ do?"

"Well, _that_ for one," Naruto chuckled.

"I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed," Flora muttered thoughtfully. She honestly didn't!

"Sage Mode does have its weaknesses though." Naruto pointed out to them. "In order to enter Sage Mode, you have to remain completely still. And I mean _completely_. Still. This obviously, leaves me open to attacks, so I have to be prepared to enter it or be in it before battle. And because you have to move during a fight, the nature chakra can't be refilled, because in order to do so you need to be absolutely still. And once the Sage energy is used up, it leaves you exhausted. You can re-enter it, but if it runs out again, you'll be left even more exhausted. So the more you keep using it, the more exhausted you get."

"Can anyone learn this, empowered state? It would be quite the boon." Miria asked. It would be quite the boon for her goals, for what she intended to do. And she needed all the advantages she can get.

"Deneve asked me the same question. It has specific requirements, but because you're not aligned with Mount Myoboku, I can't tell you." He answered with a shake of his head. "I can tell you though that the process to learning Sage Mode is very difficult and not just anyone can go under training to master it. If you're unable to balance the nature energy you take in, then it slowly turns you to stone and kills you. If you take in too much, it turns you to stone and kills you. If you move too much while taking in the nature energy and not remain completely still, it turns you to stone and you guessed it: kills you."

"Yikes…" Julianna muttered.

"Yikes, indeed," Miria concurred. "Oh, well. Thank you for the information."

"The energies we use may be different, but I can still help you train." Naruto pointed out as he let the nature chakra flow back into the environment, his features changed back to normal in the process. "I just have to figure out _how_ I can help. Training your reflexes, enhancing your techniques, make you rely less on your yoki and build up your base strength… something like that."

As he talked Naruto had beckoned the other 14 women to follow him as he carried Flora out of the ruins of Pieta. They were all in this together now and having nowhere else to go - not that they _would_ go anywhere - they followed him, with Miria once more taking the lead, but stayed behind Naruto.

"What do you have in mind?" Helen asked.

"I'll think on it when I get to it." The blond answered, "However, seeing as you all know your own limits with your brand of power and the abilities that come with it I would suggest you improve what you are already capable of. Miria, as an example, can make herself look like a phantom if she uses yoki to increase her speed… But I'd bet she can only use it for a limited amount of time, so what would happen if she were to be able to do that, but uses pure speed alone, no yoki involved."

That got the sandy-brunette in question thinking. Could she _really_ improve her Phantom using nothing but speed alone? It would take a lot of work, but it _is_ feasible. Not to mention, if she accomplishes that, then, in theory, she can use _that_ phantom as much as she wants with no limit.

"And Helen can stretch her limbs, without using yoki," Naruto added, "Imagine what she could do with that! She could like… twist her arm around several times and make a drill with it."

"Easier said than done," Jean pointed out. "I have such a technique and it puts a heavy strain on my arm when I do that. I need quite a bit of prior preparation to perform it."

"What may be difficult for you may be easy for someone else." Naruto fired back good-naturedly. "For example, that energy sphere that Pervy Sage and I used during the first battle was invented by my father. It took him three years to create, but he never managed to complete it. It took Pervy Sage an entire year to learn its incomplete state, and it took me just three weeks. I however, was able to complete it three years later by adding an element. The reason _why_ it took me three years was that I never knew it was incomplete. But once I did know, it took me a couple of days and you all saw the fruits of my labour in action. It was when that clone of mine dashed head first into that retarded looking lizard."

They remembered that; an energy sphere with blades spinning around it. When that clone dashed head first into the armadillo-like Awakened One, it expanded and enveloped it, and made a dome-like vortex.

That was it in its complete state?!

"Why didn't you use it again if that was the case?!" Queenie angrily demanded. They could have suffered fewer losses damnit!

"Three reasons, actually. One: I underestimated Rigardo. While I do have experience fighting fast opponents, he was still a bitch to deal with, and I ran out of nature energy at the time. If I had left some clones behind they could have gathered more of it for me to use. But I underestimated him and you all paid the price for it." He said with a large amount of self-loathing in his tone. He _should've_ left some damn clones behind to gather nature chakra for him! That's what he gets for underestimating his opponents…!

Naruto took a deep breath and continued where he left off, "Two: if I had killed all of the Awakened Beings there, then I would have to deal with the one behind them, Miria knows who I'm talking about from the looks of it."

"I-Isley, the Abyssal One of the North…" Everyone, except for those who are already in the know looked at Miria in surprise and fear at the mention of that name. "He's of the Lost Generation and is considered to be the strongest Creature of the Abyss."

"I wasn't sure it was him, but the energy I felt was immense. It was certainly larger than Rigardo's. And there was another one there too that was absurdly big. Fighting _them_ right after taking down Rigardo and the other Awakened Beings, I would have most certainly lost. And they would have made a beeline for the lot of you." And that would have been bad. Very bad. If those two had come out of the woodworks, then Miria's plan to get as many people out of this alive as possible would have ended with fewer numbers than they have now. Probably everyone would have died instead.

Naruto took a moment for his words to settle, before getting to the final point. "And three: I was _knocked out_. Even if I wasn't, there was no guarantee I would have been able to hit him with it." Naruto said with a roll of his eyes, not that Queenie could see it.

"Why do you say that?" Natalie asked.

"The Rasenshuriken - that's the name of the technique - needs to be thrown. It can be thrust into someone as you all clearly saw, but I would have been putting my own life at risk. You all saw what happened to the clone when he used it on that retarded looking lizard. And you all saw the aftermath on said retarded looking lizard. Even if you had an incredible healing factor, good luck trying to regenerate your entire body from being constantly attacked by billions of blades so tiny that you can't even see them."

"That sounds… painful," Flora commented.

"It is." Naruto told her with a nod. "I have another technique that's the precursor to the Rasenshuriken. It's basically the Rasengan with four smaller sharp points spinning around it, and I only ever used it once. The first time I used it my arm got caught in the blast and… well… to put it into perspective at how _lucky_ I was to not lose my arm, the four sharp points spinning around the Rasenshuriken are sharp enough to cut through rock…and disintegrate people."

"I have no idea what the last part means, but it sounds like it hurts," Helen muttered.

"That… more or less means to turn them into dust," Deneve pointed out.

"Fuuuck!" Her best friend hissed in surprise. What kind of enemies did this kid face to create such a technique? Did she even want to know?! On the other hand, Helen was even _more_ curious about the blond now.

"And that was the precursor to that Rasen-whatchamacallit?" An equally curious Yuma asked.

"Yeah. And it's just as destructive as the Rasenshuriken. Since it's not a technique that can be thrown though, I hardly use it, because if I do, it'll fuck up my arm… and pretty much anything else caught in its blast radius."

Naruto perked up when he received the memories from his clones. "...My clones dispelled," He announced. "They found shelter."

"That fast?" Cynthia asked looking surprised.

"They can move quick." Naruto chuckled in amusement. "Let's get going, shall we?"

* * *

The place the shelter was located at was in a town called Dabi.

The bad news: it was abandoned, many buildings were in disrepair and had been attacked.

The good news: the buildings were still structurally intact and not a lot of them had taken too much damage. There were no bodies either. Which told the survivors that the bodies had either been buried by survivors before they fled or there were none and had been picked clean.

The shelter in question was, in fact, an inn. It was a... mostly intact inn, but it was an inn nonetheless.

"Pretty warm. Thank god for that." Naruto mused aloud as he set Flora down on her feet. He took a look around and found places for everyone to sit. Tables for them to put their things down. There was even a fireplace for them to use, though he didn't see any firewood to use for it. He needs to wash up too, the blond remembered that he had his own blood on him.

No doubt Flora would eagerly 'help' him bathe if she got the opportunity… not that he minded.

"Looks good, I must say," said woman commented. "I'll see if I can find some firewood for the hearth."

"Don't stray too far, dear." He advised.

"Of course," she chuckled. Deciding to check the storerooms first, she ventured down the hall to see if there was any firewood in the building itself. "If there's any in storage, I might not even have to leave the inn."

"Hopefully, there is." Naruto chuckled; then he took off his sage coat, his long-sleeved shirt and the mesh-armour he wore underneath to get a look at the injuries he received from his fight with Rigardo - assuming they hadn't healed up yet.

When he checked, Naruto felt his side was still raw but wasn't as uncomfortable anymore. That was understandable since his healing factor isn't as strong as it used to be anymore now that Kurama wasn't in him and the leftovers of the fox's chakra were sealed up tight. On the bright side, he could do some heavy lifting now. There was a slight discolouration in the form of holes where the Awakened One had struck him. He was also giving the other women a show… inadvertently of course. He had his back to them, but the women in question could see that Naruto kept himself in shape.

"My, my, no wonder Flora likes you so much," Helen giggled. Deneve promptly gave her a whack on the head for her troubles.

"Har har har," Naruto said, with a roll of his eyes. He turned around halfway and saw all the women were ogling him - even Clare, even if she were to deny it. Then he turned completely and that was when they all saw the scar on the right side of his chest. The only ones who saw it were Lucia, Flora and Miria so they weren't all that surprised, the others on the other hand...

"Holy shit! How'd that happen?!" A wide-eyed Helen exclaimed.

"A 'friend that I would have killed in his position," Flora muttered spitefully as she scoured the immediate area for any firewood. There were a couple of logs lying about, but not enough to heat the room. "Spoiled, sociopathic, little shit wasn't worth all the hell he went through to save, as far as I'm concerned."

"Can't say I blame you for feeling that way," Naruto chuckled sheepishly. Then he went and answered Helen's question. "I got this scar by trying to stop someone I consider to be a brother in all but blood from making a huge mistake. I never succeeded in stopping him though, because while he was trying his damn best to kill me I was holding back. I had a hand shoved through my lung twice, my neck broken and piledrived into a cliff headfirst. I _think_ I was set on fire too on that day."

"Again, not worth it in the slightest…" Not anything she could do about it now, though, much to Flora's chagrin, so she simply carried on in her search.

The other women, meanwhile, were utterly amazed that he was still alive. A few of them were looking at him more hungrily, now, as well - visibly wanting to have their ways with the badass blond.

"Why did he do that?" Helen asked.

"Revenge." Naruto was pointedly ignoring the looks some of the other women were sending his way. "He wanted the power to kill someone; he was given an opportunity to do so, but to get that power he had to join one of the greatest traitors my home had ever known. I was part of a team that was sent to retrieve him, and one by one we got separated by people loyal to the traitor that he allowed to take him away. I was the only one to reach him. To make a long story short: I got in his way, we fought, I lost. Killing me, his best friend would have been a stepping stone towards that goal of getting power. But for some reason, he spared me when I was at his mercy."

"I still say it wasn't worth it… despite how it turned out in the end. It took you three bloody years to bring him back!" And a world war that escalated to a something that threatened all life where he's from, but they (the others) didn't need to know that. Not yet at least. They still had no idea that Naruto is from another world.

Speaking of years…

Helen slinked on over to Naruto and threw an arm over his shoulder. "Soooo…. I heard from that mentor of yours that you're actually older than you look. He said the last time he saw you, you were 16 going on 17… care to explain Mr. 'I am 15 years old'? Hmmm?"

"Naruto was also taller. I remember the man saying that." Deneve added giving the blond male an expectant look.

"Uh…" Naruto had no idea what to say to that. Dammit, Pervy Sage! What was he supposed to say? Meh, he'd as well tell the truth. "Well… I don't really know. Truth be told, I'm a little confused as to why I look younger than I should be, except when I go back to Mount Myoboku."

"'Mount Myoboku?'" Jean narrowed her eyes in thought. There's that name again. "What is Mount Myoboku?"

"That's the place where I learned Sage Mode." Naruto answered Jean's question, before continuing where he left off. "I even dispelled any possible illusions that may have been on me that made myself look this young. There weren't any. Physically, I _am_ 15 years old. Mentally…I'm around 18."

Though, he _does_ tend to have a lapse of judgement from time to time. Something he's been trying to curb lately. Though, given his blunder with Riful and everything here, it happens from time to time.

"You act much more mature than that, actually," Cynthia pointed out thoughtfully. "Were it not for your appearance, I'd have thought you were in your mid-twenties."

"Uh… thanks," Naruto chuckled sheepishly once more. "I was trained to be a mercenary for hire when I was 7. And despite failing twice, I finally became one when I was 13. I'd do damn near anything for the right price… even looking after someone's kids. Though there are things I'd never do; killing kids and burning down entire towns are things I will never do."

"When I went to inform you about Miria wanting you and your mentor at the meeting, I remember you telling me that you were…the weakest in your generation." Yuma hesitantly spoke up.

 _That_ surprised almost everyone. "Wha- really?! You, the weakest?!

No way!" Wendy exclaimed with her eyes wide in shock.

"Yes, way," Naruto told her with a slight smile. Flora was long gone by this point. "I was the weakest. The burden. Way back then, everyone didn't think I would amount to much and that I would be a massive burden. I wouldn't be all that surprised if everyone thought I would end up dead in a ditch on my first mission."

"How'd you get stronger?"

"Training. I trained until I collapsed, then I got back up and trained some more."

Zelda looked particularly interested in him now, a hungry shine in her visible eye as she did her best to avoid fidgeting.

Naruto blinked when he realized something: the women all had tears in their uniforms where they had been struck. Since their wounds had healed, that meant Naruto could see skin. And a lot of them were rather… exposing.

Naruto went dull-eyed at that and very slowly covered his eyes. "I just realized you're all wearing damaged uniforms and armour… and you're exposed where the tears are." He told them, without taking his hand away from his eyes.

"I don't mind if you stare~" Helen chirped cheekily. "I'm pretty sure Miria wouldn't mind either, heh heh heh!" The mischievous woman was obviously referring to the time when Naruto was fucking her 'big sis' in Lydd.

Again, an exasperated Deneve whacked her upside the head. Geez, Helen really _was_ the playful, forward woman and Deneve being the responsible level-headed one.

"And I do remember my captain mentioning that you're a bit of an ass and tits man, and that you've been fucking her until she had a limp." Wendy added with a wolfish grin. She saw an opportunity to tease the blond and she was going to take it. "I even heard from her that you've fucked both Lucia _and_ Captain Miria! Though she admitted into having to goad you both times."

At that almost everyone looked at Miria and Lucia, showing a mixture of reactions. Some showed jealousy. Others surprise. And some with intrigue.

Naruto took a deep breath and lowered his arm before looking in a random direction that had no clock.

"Oh! Look at the time! I gotta go help Flora!" He quickly gathered his upper clothing and got the _hell_ out of there before any of them got any ideas.

Flora _obviously_ needed help with finding firewood!

She _totally_ needed help!

He wasn't doing this to avoid them… Nope… He wasn't… He _totally_ wasn't...


	21. Chapter 20

A fingerless-gloved hand traced over the aged wood of a broken door belonging to the remnants of a house. Under the shadow of the hood adorned on the person's head, a pair of blue eyes surveyed the surroundings searchingly as a small frown pulled at the corner of his lips.

A sigh escaped him. "I don't fancy my chances at finding any clues of that kid being here in this town either." The young man said aloud to himself.

Apart from an Awakened One or two showing up here and there and the new generation of claymores coming out of their regions to put them down, Alphonse was pretty much abandoned. While Dabi served as a good shelter due to most of the towns structure being intact, it also served as a gathering hotspot for any claymore teams the Organization had sent North.

Putting a hand on the top of his hood to hold it in place, the young man peered up at the sky. Everything was dark, gloomy and cloudy here. Fitting, considering how barren and unsupportive of life the North was. He let out another sigh and looked ahead of him. The hooded man was wearing, as mentioned before, a hood that was attached to a cloak. Underneath the cloak one could see the young man was wearing a dark orange cuirass. The hooded young man also wore a pair of boots.

The sound of crunching snow was heard as the hooded figure delved deeper into the ruins of the nameless, abandoned ruins of the town. There was a resounding _Crash!_ coming from a building to his left, a former warehouse, while any normal person would be worried about lurking bandits and outlaws preying upon wandering travellers this person wasn't worried in the slightest.

A short moment later, another person emerged from the ruins of the building and he was wearing the exact same hooded cloak, clothes and armour as the first one. He joined the man and walked with him on his left.

"Did you find anything?" He asked to the figure on his left without turning to look at him.

"Nothing, boss. I checked three buildings before that one and I didn't find any sign of that kid Clare's looking for being here." Said man replied, his voice was a direct match to the person on _his_ right. "It's very unlikely he was here when the Awakened Beings came through Seven Years ago."

"I see." A frown pulled at the corners of his lips again. "Well, keep looking. Even if there's no sign of him being here maybe we can find some sort of clue that was left over." The chance of that happening was small, but a chance is still a chance.

"Got it boss!" With that order given the man dashed off, his cloak flapping behind him as he got back to searching.

"Hmmm… gotta love Shadow Clones. When they're not being rebellious that is." The man's hood fluttered against the gale of wind blowing against him, before it fell back, revealing a a familiar whisker faced blond, whose hair while still spiky was cut much shorter. While his appearance had not changed much in seven years thanks to his Uzumaki vitality, the changes were enough for Naruto to go unrecognised for a while. No one outside of a select few knew what he looked like without his mask on after all. He still wore the horned forehead protector, though. Naruto exhaled, hot air breathing out of his mouth before he reached back and pulled the hood back over his head.

Some time later as he searchingly explored another part of town, Naruto paused as he received the memories of his clones. His lips pulled down into an even further frown. The memory feedback gave him no luck on clues on Raki's whereabouts here. This ruined settlement was yet another dead end. He can't remember how many towns he checked since the battle of Pieta, but he's only found dead ends.

Honestly, the chances this Raki kid was still alive after all this time were slim. The small expeditions to made to the deeper bowls of Alphonse he was taking for this search was so far fruitless. With a sigh, the young man went and left the ruined settlement. He wasn't going to give up - he _did_ make a promise to Clare, after all - but, Naruto did deem this search to be another failure.

After making a good way out of the forever to be unnamed town, Naruto got started on heading to the town of Dabi because, while it is a hotspot for the new generation of claymores to meet before they ventured into the bowls of Alphonse it was fairly close to where the others were.

* * *

Sometime later, as the town of Dabi came within his eyesight the hooded blond came to a stop before he turned his gaze to the mountains towards his right. He could sense three Awakened Beings over there, though only two of them were suppressing their yoki. And he could sense three, no, _four_ claymore's heading right for them. One of them had incredibly weak yoki, it was so weak even _he_ could barely sense her!

That was also where the survivors had buried their fallen comrades and used their claymores as grave markers.

He had no idea if the others could sense them or not, but, he wasn't going to take any chances. And so Naruto Uzumaki turned and dashed off towards the mountains as fast as possible. His form became a blur as he left a trail of snow cloud and a small trench on the ground behind him, such was his speed.

* * *

Meanwhile, with the claymores in question.

Four women were trudging their way up a mountain with the still standing but abandoned town of Dabi far behind them. The four women all wore the same uniforms the Organization gives to all its warriors, nothing much had changed there. Though only one of them had worn a hooded cloak, with the hood itself being down.

The first woman, the one leading them, has platinum hair, and is wearing it in a ponytail with her entire fringe swept to the left side of her face. She had a stoic, completely uncaring, no-nonsense look on her diamond shaped face.

The second woman was attractive and she has short, wild, sideswept hair that is almost silver in colour and bore an expression on her heart shaped face that seemed almost uncaring at first glance. However, if one were to look past the facade, the worry that was well hidden could be seen.

And the third person was a young, attractive woman who too had a heart shaped face and bore a bowl haircut, that was parted in the middle and a sandy blonde in colour. She too had an expression that seemed uncaring at first glance, but the woman was surveying their surroundings from the corner of her silver eyes.

And the fourth and final person is a young woman with an oval shaped face and short hair with the endings spiked out. However what made her stand out from the other three women was her _brown_ hair. And she was the one who was wearing the hooded cloak.

These women, in the order they were introduced are Nina, Camilla, Elise and Clarice. Nina, being the Number 7, Camilla being the Number 20, Elise being the Number 21, and Clarice being the Number 47.

These four women are in an Awakened Being Hunting Party, and are currently in the process of hunting one such being.

"Our target lives in these mountains," Nina told her teammates. "Should be pretty minor compared to those in the Battle of the North. Still, stay sharp."

"Uh… hey… may I ask something?" Clarice asked, and when she didn't get an answer she took that as her cue to continue. "There's no one living here in the North. Since there's no one to make a job request, why are we hunting an Awakened One?"

Again, Clarice didn't get an answer. "Uh… Hey…"

"Noisy fool," Nina grunted out with annoyance in her voice. "Somebody talk to her."

Seeing as Elise wasn't going to be talking anytime soon, Camilla looked back at Clarice from halfway over the shoulder and explained. "The Organization changed its thinking after the Battle of the North." She began, "Until then, the Awakened Ones didn't herd up. They were solitary and moved around on their own. They weren't much different from regular youma. But seven years ago, the Awakened Ones suddenly banded together and twenty-four warriors who fought against them at the time were wiped out. After that, the Organization stopped regarding Awakened Ones like youma. The new policy became to actively go after them whenever there's information."

Clarice gulped nervously at that.

"There had been sightings that the Youma Hunter had been seen walking to Pieta with three other warriors before the Battle of the North. And since the task force sent there has been wiped out, it's said the Youma Hunter was one of the casualties. That he has not been seen again after the Battle of the North only solidified it." Elise added.

"But… I... still don't…" Clarice started, only for Nina to interrupt her.

"Looks like we've climbed far enough." She stated, coming to a stop.

In front of them, they could see the Awakened One they were sent to hunt. The wind howled against their ear as they could clearly see that the Awakened One resembled a giant spider, or a beetle, that completely towered them. They could see its mandibles opening and closing, as it made a clicking sound.

A wide eyed Clarice let out a frightened gasp.

"Don't bunch up! Spread out!" Nina yelled her command, just as the spider-like Awakened One brought up both of its bladed arms, and several blades flicked out like a multipurpose tool before it brought down both arms.

Nina, Elise and Camilla all leapt out of the way, the arms stabbing into the ground and sending snow and rubble everywhere from the impact. Clarice, on the other hand, was thrown back and she smacked the back of her head against a rock.

"GYAH!"

"Captain!" Elise cried out, "Number 47-!"

"Forget her! She's no use to us!" Nina shouted.

Then, Nina, Elise and Camilla all dashed forth and circled around the Awakened One with the latter two attacking its legs, only for their swords to bounce harmlessly off its armour. Elise and Camilla weren't trying to harm it however only distract it as Nina leapt up and flipped herself around so she was facing it with her claymore held up towards the sky.

"Secret sword… shadow-chaser." Was all Nina said, then she closed her eyes as gravity took hold and her sword _moved_ seemingly of its own violation!

The insect-like Awakened One moved out of the way in alarm as Nina's sword _smashed_ into the ground, sending rubble and large chunks of the earth around her. Then he appeared behind her in a blur of motion, a few second after.

"Too bad. Despite my looks I'm faster than most Awakened Ones." He taunted, only to let out a gasp when Nina swept her sword behind her without moving from her position. The insectoids feet dragged across the ground as he moved out of the way just in time. "How! How did you...see?!"

Nina didn't answer the woman merely leapt up towards the Awakened One and flipped herself above him. Then gravity took hold and she attacked with her eyes closed, despite having a lack of vision the woman was somehow following him?!

"What… What the?!" He hissed in both shock and sight fear. Then Nina landed on the ground and swiped at one of his legs with her sword. The sharp end of the blade was able of cut off a few of the clawed toes, making the Awakened One cry out in pain.

He leapt back to evade and Nina who still hadn't opened her eyes, followed after him and swiped in his direction, and missed his leg but just barely.

"WHATt?!" How was this woman doing this?! How was she tracking him without opening her eyes?!

"It's no use." The close-eyed Nina calmly stated, as she kept up her assault on the Awakened One who kept on avoiding her attacks but was getting slower and slower with each evasion. "Once it's released, this sword… will not stop until it has destroyed the target."

"You can…" if he could widen his eyes, they would have done so when the revelation of this girls technique became known to him. "...Follow my youma energy?" With that revelation he counterattacked the Number 9 when she leapt at him with his arms, the smaller blades pointed at the woman with the intent to impale and slice her into bloody chunks. He would have succeeded too, had Camilla and Elise not leapt up and severed both his arms near the shoulder with but a single swipe, stunning him at the sudden loss of his limbs.

"To prevent that from happening…" Camilla started.

"...We're here." Elise finished.

"GAAAH!" The insectoid Awakened One let out a roar of agony as the pain from the loss of his arms finally registered.

Suddenly, there was a rush of air around Nina and the next thing she knew the woman had her feet back on the ground. And a huge spike like projectile hit the ground… and based on the trajectory that projectile would have impaled her through the stomach had she still been in midair.

"W-what the hell?" The confused and startled woman shouted out. Suddenly, Elise and Camilla were standing beside her, both of whom were just as confused and startled as she was.

They all heard the sound of rushing projectiles and they looked up and their silver eyes grew wide as the three women found several dozens of projectiles heading directly for them.

"W-what?!" Actually, make that _four_ eyes now since the deadweight had just woken up. "Who are you?"

That got Nina to pause as the words dawned on her. There was someone else here?! And just as the projectiles were about to strike them the very earth itself _moved_. The earth rose up in less than a second to form a protective wall against those projectiles.

The sharp objects struck against the wall and it held up… for about three seconds before crumbling completely under the assault. But it did the job: Nina, Elise and Camilla all got out of the way.

"Damn! I missed!?" Nina, Elise, Camilla and Clarice all looked up at the hill behind the armless Awakened One, and felt a weight drop in their stomach when they saw two other Awakened Beings emerging from their hiding place. And they were equally as tall as the bug looking one. And looked just as ugly. The one on the right had many spikes jutting out of its back and arms, telling them that it was the one responsible for the projectiles.

"You didn't miss." The Awakened One on the left said; surprise could be heard in his voice. "The damn ground moved in their path!"

"That it did," an unfamiliar, masculine voice chimed in, catching the girls - except Clarice - by surprise.

"Ah! T-that was you?" Clarice asked looking at the newcomer with wide eyes. He was wearing a hooded cloak, similar to hers so the brunette was unable to see what he looked like.

"That it was." The hooded man replied with a nod. "Are you ladies good to take them on by yourselves or do you want me to immobilize them for you?"

"P-please help," the brunette replied in a tiny, meek voice. The poor thing was utterly terrified.

The hooded man nodded. "Alright," He made several hand seals quickly before slamming his hands against the ground. The ground _shook_ and the group of Awakened Ones and Claymores were rightfully surprised when three pairs of giant hands made of earth grew out of the ground and grasped the the former before they could respond.

"W-what the-?!"

"Was is this?!"

"How is this _possible?!_ "

All three Awakened Ones cried out in genuine shock, disbelief and fear. After all it wasn't every day that the very ground itself comes to life and holds you down. They could have easily broken out… but being overcome by fear tends to not make you think straight.

"Well..." The hooded man asked, looking at the shocked women in front of him. "...that's my part in this done." He told them before gesturing to the immobilized Awakened Ones in front of them. A nice thing about those hands is that they can be used as platforms.

They didn't need to be told twice, or look a gift horse in the mouth. Nina, Camilla and Elise all dashed forth and leapt up onto the platforms where they made their way to the immobile Awakened Ones.

Only Clarice hesitated, still trembling in horror and utterly overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the Awakened Ones. The hooded man put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You can stay right here." He told her; he wasn't going to order someone who had so little yoki to go fight those things. He wasn't stupid.

"O-okay…" Clarice said with obvious relief in her voice.

Because the Awakened Ones were held down, quite literally at that, Nina, Elise and Camilla were all able to take care of them in record time. Nina used her Shadow-chaser technique on the armless bug one and sliced his head off. The rest of his body was crushed by the hands. Elise cut the head of her one into two pieces and the hands holding that one down crushed him for good measure. And Camilla, she sliced the head of her Awakened One off despite his protests for mercy before cutting the head again, and again and again reducing it to bloody, purple chunks. And again, the hands holding the body down crushed the corpse for good measure.

And when all three women leapt away the hands sunk into the ground...and dragged the headless crushed corpses down with them.

"Well done." the hooded man beside Clarice praised them as they turned to look at him. "It's been a while since I last saw one of you claymores here in the North."

"Oh?" Camilla asked. "How long has it been since you last saw people like us?"

"Since that massacre in Pieta seven years ago." The hooded man answered with a sigh. "And as you most likely know, the North is a barren wasteland now. Not many people venture up here in No Man's Land."

"Wh-what happened to those warriors?" Clarice asked hesitantly. "Is it true that they're all dead? And what of the Youma Hunter?"

"Those warriors were wiped out. I saw the bodies myself and buried them. Used their claymores as grave markers as is custom… but several of 'em have been stolen or otherwise lost through the years. Out of 24 only 9 are still standing, last I checked."

"I… I see," Clarice muttered, looking discouraged by the news. "I just… had to ask. Sorry if I caused you any discomfort."

"It happened almost a decade ago. No need to apologize."

"What of the Youma Hunter?" Camilla asked. "You never did say what happened to him."

The man's cloak shifted, he was most likely crossing his arms. "Well, the Youma Hunter did come to Alphonse. And he slew six Awakened Ones by himself before he was beset by the one leading them. A powerful monster called Rigardo. The Youma Hunter and Rigardo fought, and despite a lengthy battle the Youma Hunter was seemingly cut down, but managed to cripple the powerful monster - which allowed him to be later slain in the main battle."

"...You said 'seemingly'," Clarice pointed out.

"Yeah," Camilla said with a nod of her head. "That was an odd word to use."

"Good catch." The man said with approval. "If the Youma Hunter had been killed then the body was never found. All that was seen from that battleground was a large trench in the snow, and human-sized footprints and drips of blood leading to the town."

"Is he still around?" Elise questioned him.

With that question, the hooded man let out a chuckle before he turned and started walked in the direction they came from as he said, "Of course he is still around. He rescued the four of you, didn't he?"

 _That_ got them all to look at his back in surprise.

"W-wha-?" Clarice looked at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. _He_ was the Infamous Youma Hunter?!

Camilla reached out to grab him, "Hey wait!" she cried, as she went to go after him only for the hooded man's image to flicker and vanish before their very eyes.

"He's… gone?" Elise slowly said as she, Camilla, Nina, and Clarice all looked around for him in the surrounding area.

"Fast…" Camilla muttered. There was no yoki from what she could sense. That was pure speed. That...was scary, and unheard of from a human. Was the Youma Hunter _truly_ a human being? Or was he something more?

As for Clarice, she was looking a little jealous. She may not be able to use yoki, for reasons known only to herself, but at times, she can sense it when it's being used. And when the Youma Hunter disappeared, the brunette could not feel any yoki being used. Or when he made those strange gestures with his hands and made _rock_ hands coming out of the earth. The fact a _human_ of all things is that strong made the Number 47 more than a little jealous.

Nina closed her eyes and exhaled. "Come on." She said, putting her claymore back in the backplate. "Our job here is done. Let's report back to the Organization." The woman added as she made her way back down the mountain with Clarice, Elise and Camilla in tow.

Had they looked back, the four women would have seen the Youma Hunter observing them from the place the Awakened Ones once were. It was only after they were a quarter of the way down the mountain that the Youma Hunter, turned around to see three more people wearing the same hooded cloaks as his own land in the snow. The hooded cloaks they wore hid their gender entirely.

"Came to check up on me did you?" He asked them.

"We sensed a group of auras in this area and came as quickly as we could. Are you alright, Naruto?" The figure in the front, asked with a clear feminine tone.

"I'm fine, Miria." Naruto replied, now he was walking to the cloaked woman. "The same cannot be said of the three Awakened Ones though. An Awakened Being Hunting Party had gotten ambushed. I merely bailed them out."

"Did you reveal anything about us?" The figure on Miria's left asked.

"Yeah, that would be pretty dumb, Naruto." The figure on Miria's right added. Both of whom were also women by the clear feminine tone.

These two were Helen and Deneve.

"About you specifically? No. I told them you all were dead, I even gave you a cover in the likelihood one of them went to check on the graves. I told them only 9 claymores remained out of 24 that are acting as gravestones and that the others had been stolen by bandits. The Organization is likely going to be aware of it when those women report back to them." He shrugged, and walked past them. The cloaked women turned and followed him. "As for me, I _may_ have let it slip that I was the Youma Hunter."

"And by 'may' you mean, 'purposely', right," Miria said as she stared a hole into the back of Naruto's head.

The shoulders of the cloak raised and lowered in a shrug. "It depends on _your_ point of view. If the Organization does happen to send a party to search Alphonse, they won't be looking for you, because you all suppressed your yoki to the point even I'm having trouble locating you. They're going to be looking for me and because I have no yoki, and being good at covering my tracks they won't be able to track me down unless I was letting them."

"So, how did your search go?" Helen asked in an attempt to change the subject. It worked.

Naruto let out a sigh. "I ran into another dead end. There was no clue or sign that Raki was there in the town I searched. Just ruins. I sincerely hope, that Clare and Yuma have had far better luck in their search than I."

"For her sake, I hope so, too," Miria replied with thinned lips. "She needs the closure." That kid still haunts her.

"Not confident that they'll reunite?" Helen asked Miria and Naruto, but mainly the latter.

"It's been 7 years, Helen." Naruto reminded the woman. "Seven years of searching and neither I nor Clare have found one clue of him even being here in the North. Even _I'm_ beginning to think he's dead. And if he isn't, he could be anywhere by now."

"Point taken." Helen nodded. "So, what're we gonna do, now?"

"We regroup with the others," Miria answered. "Clare and Yuma should be coming back now."

"Sounds like a plan." Then Naruto reached up and pulled back his hood to give Miria a teasing grin. "And we can have a 'little' fun while we wait if you want." He added, teasing the sandy-brunette; while he couldn't see her face Naruto _knew_ the woman had a blush growing on her cheeks.

"P-perhaps," Miria replied evasively.

"Translation: take me now you fucking stud~!" Helen snickered with a toothy grin.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Oh, behave, you, or I'll give you a spanking!"

"You say that like it's a bad thing." The woman said with another snicker.

Beside her, Deneve shook her head under the hood in exasperation.

Along the way back, Naruto, Miria, Helen, and Deneve met up with Cynthia and Tabitha who had come along as support. They weren't all that surprised there were no casualties, and Cynthia was especially happy that no one had gotten hurt. And after a brief explanation was given by Naruto relaying what he had told Miria, the six of them were now heading back to the others.

* * *

The others were back in the temporary hideout they set up in the mountains close to Dabi. It was in a cave that had supplies, in the form of pottery, mattresses, and baskets, mainly stuff that wouldn't be used by anyone anymore. Naruto himself had to go resupply the girls with food and water by venturing out of Alphonse and head to the nearest town. When he, Miria, Helen, and Deneve all entered their hideout Naruto chuckled when Flora glomped him. The woman in question had only become more possessive of him as the years went on by. In fact, ever since the incident in Pieta, she'd become even more aggressive, as exhibited by the ravenous kiss that nearly devoured his face.

Naruto didn't mind it. If he was to be completely honest, he welcomed it. After a short while, his girlfriend/lover withdrew from his lips and Naruto took that opportunity to take his cloak off.

No longer was he wearing the clothes 7 years previously. Now, Naruto is wearing dark orange armour, with mesh-armour worn underneath the cuirass. He was wearing military-grade trousers, the kind the ANBU back home would wear, and a pair of matching boots and fingerless gloves. The armour itself is constructed from numerous metal plates, formed into multiple protective guards along his body with a pair forming arm, shoulder and thigh guards. The spaulders were similar to this worlds rather than his. What the blond did keep from a near decade ago was the horned forehead protector, and the Sage Coat, which was worn around the breastplate. The armour he wore was very similar to what ninja used to wear during the Clan Wars era.

Lucia observed him from her part in the cave. "Hard to believe you got that armour from your toad summons. I thought you couldn't get anything from them?"

"Neither did I to be honest. When I found myself to be stuck here I didn't think I would be able to get anything from there to here." The blond admitted. "Still… it never occurred to me to ask or even test if they can _give_ me things from their realm. Even passing messages." And boy did he feel dumb about that. Not once did he even _think_ of asking the Toad Summons if he could ask for things from the Elemental Nations, or even sending messages to reassure his precious people that he was alright!

Another thing: the deserters were aware that Naruto did not come from this island. Miria already guessed that he came from elsewhere, someplace that was undiscovered; the prowess he showed in the Battle of Pieta was more than enough proof of that. There were no records in the Organization that described _anyone_ , be they Awakened, Youma, or Claymore that could perform such… god-like feats. So Miria came to the only conclusion she could: Naruto came from somewhere else. Somewhere that is untouched by the Organization. She didn't confront him with these deductions because she had no proof, but it was the way he carried himself, the way he wasn't afraid of _what_ they were and what they could become. Naruto just treated her, no he treated all of them as if they were normal human beings. That was why she liked him if Miria was completely honest. It was why _everyone_ liked him. There was something about Naruto that drew others to him. Deneve had offhandedly said it was very similar to the way she draws people at one point.

"Well, it's better late than never, as the saying goes!" Helen chirped as she went to take a seat. She, Deneve, and Miria all threw off their hooded cloaks and put aside their claymores to reveal their new outfits.

The women had long abandoned their uniforms of the Organization. Now, they all were clad in black form-fitting cloth and leather outfits; Cynthia's getup was a leotard, a long-sleeve tunic and thigh-high boots and padded leather for extra protection.

Miria and Tabitha both wore sleeveless tunics, a short skirt that was split at the sides to grant better manoeuvrability, arm length gloves, and thigh-high boots with straps to hold the boots up. They too had padded leather on for protection.

Helen and Deneve were wearing similar but different outfits; a long-sleeved tunic as well as tight, form-fitting black pants. Though, Helen's looked more like a one piece with a zipper due to her tunic having gloves.

Deneve was wearing a sleeveless halter-top and armlets that covered the entirety of her arms; it was only the padded leather armour she wore on her shoulders that covered them. She was also carrying two claymores, just like her captain Undine use to seven years ago. And she's gotten quite good at using them too.

Had Clare and Yuma been there, they would have been seen wearing similar outfits as them; the former would have been wearing an outfit similar to Miria and Tabitha, and the latter's would be similar to Helen and Deneve's.

Jean actually _was_ wearing an outfit that was emulating what Clare was wearing, albeit with some differences. The woman's skirt was shorter for one to show off more of her lovely thighs and she wore knee-length boots to reveal her legs; the tunic had sleeves, but those were small and the Jean wore a pair of fingerless gloves that reached to her elbows.

Flora was garbed in something far more scandalous, one that honestly reminded him of an outfit described in one of Pervy-Sage's books, though he wasn't complaining. The getup in question was a sleeveless, revealing leotard with thigh-high boots and elbow-length gloves. It was kept up with a tie behind the neck like a halter top and Flora wore a pair of greaves and bracers for at least some protection.

Zelda was decked out in a black tank and short shorts with matching boots and fingerless gloves. Her padded leather armour was lying in a pile beside her where she was sitting.

Juliana's outfit was the girliest of them all, consisting of a short, black summer dress, black slippers and matching stockings. Where the hell she found the outfit in the frozen north was anyone's guess. Naruto swore she was trying to seduce him, too, seeing as how she was quite clearly wearing nothing underneath from his point of view. The woman was usually wearing a black short-sleeved tunic, tight, form-fitting pants and matching coloured boots with padded leather and plate as protection when training, and fighting Awakened Ones with the others whenever they're found, but now was not such a time.

The former Number 43 wasn't alone in her desire to bed Naruto, however, as Lucia was decked out in a skimpy halter top that showed of quite a bit at the sides and a long skirt with a slit up the side reaching up to the hip. A pair of thigh-high stockings and knee-high boots finished off the attire.

Eva was more subtle, in her desire to get Naruto's attention, her outfit consisting of trousers and a low-cut, sleeveless top. The outfit hugged her enticingly, and a pair of boots finished off her look.

Natalie needed not vy for Naruto's attention, as she was the first to jump him after Flora nearly fucked the blond to death that fateful night, seven years ago. It didn't stop her from wearing something enticing, though. Her outfit was very similar to Cynthia's: a long-sleeved tunic, but instead of a leotard, she wore a pair of scandalous short shorts. Finishing the look was a pair of knee-length boots and padded leather to act as armour.

Lily was wearing a sleeveless halter-top and form-fitting shorts that stopped just above her knees. The woman had her leather-padded sabatons, vambraces and spaulders on the ground next to her, as well as the buckle and strap to hold her claymore.

Queenie's outfit consists of a short skirt like Jean's, and a halter-top like Deneve's, and gloves that covered up to her forearms with strap buckles holding them in place. She was wearing shin-length boots. Lying in a neat pile beside her was the padded leather armour in the form of spaulders, gauntlets and shinguards.

And finally, Wendy… She was garbed in one of the more conservative outfits among her comrades, consisting on a long-sleeved, knee-length dress and stockings with knee-length boots, shin guards, vambraces and her old spaulters.

As they were the more 'revealing' in comparison to the others, Eva, Lucia and Juliana's stigma could be seen from the base of their neck and down, though since he's already slept with Flora, Miria, Natalie, and Lucia already Naruto didn't mind. He still thought it wasn't the worst thing he had seen.

"So it's just Clare and Yuma we're waiting on, then?" Naruto asked since those two were the only ones he could sense were nowhere near the vicinity.

"Yep." Helen said as she stretched her arms above her head with a groan. "They're somewhere far to the North. They took a different route in case you were wondering." The woman clarified just in case Naruto was wondering why he didn't see them make their way out to their own search.

"It's been hours since they went out, so they should be heading back now," Deneve added from her seat; her claymores were laid up against the cave wall.

Naruto closed his eyes and spread his senses out. "...It's faint, but I can sense the two of them." There was a pause. "...They're on their way back now. At their current pace, they should arrive in…two to three hours."

"Good. That's good." Miria exhaled with well-repressed relief. While they were no longer part of the Organization she is still their commander. And as their commander, she valued the lives of her comrades to the point of worrying about them if they were out there alone.

"Has there been any sign of your mentor?" Eva asked him.

Naruto shook his head. "I've found no trace of him in any of the towns I've been to. It's like he vanished off the face of the Earth… He might be back in the Pure Lands." He had seen it happen to the Kages of Kumo, Konoha, Suna, Kiri and Iwa. It's entirely possible it happened to Pervy Sage. But, no one saw any 'light that reached the sky'... mainly because they were either dead or y'know, unconscious. But that was still a possibility.

It's been Seven Years, it could happen!

"So!" Naruto decided to change the subject, "What's on today's agenda? Oi! Flora! Don't you think about it!" He gave his girlfriend/lover a stern look.

His girlfriend just gave him a pleasant smile. "Think about what?" Flora's expression looked far, _far_ too innocent for it to be believable.

"You _know_ what I'm talking about." Flora was _still_ goading him into fucking the other girls. He didn't have much of a choice with Natalie: she took him being fucked to near exhaustion by Flora to her advantage and had her way with him; sure, he enjoyed it, but still!

"I have no idea what you're talking about, dear." Chirped the woman, giving him a close-eyed, toothy grin.

Several of the ladies present were hard-pressed to hide their amusement at the exchange.

"To be fair, I have yet to pay you back for what you did all those years ago," Eva chimed in. "I'm sure that several among us are eagerly waiting for an opportunity to reward you."

Despite having been with Flora, and these women for Seven Years, Naruto was still a bit clueless when it comes to the fairer gender. "It's fine. Neither of you have to reward me for something like that." He told the one-armed woman with closed eyes and a sheepish grin.

Then his eyes snapped open and he let out a squawk when Helen suddenly appeared beside him and threw her arm around his shoulder. "C'mon, kid! Don't look a gift horse in the mouth! You can _literally_ ask us to do anything… and _some_ of us would likely do it at the drop of a hat, eh? Eh? Eh~?" She teased, grinning at him with her eyebrows wagging suggestively.

Naruto just gave her a flat look, then gave her buttocks a swat.

 _Smack!_

"Oh~!" Helen gasped, "How forward of you!" The cheeky woman cooed mischievously. And she noticed he didn't take his hand away from her ass, so she did what any mischievous woman in her place would do: she pressed her butt back against his palm and wiggled against it.

"That's it hubby!" Flora giggled, grinning at him encouragingly from her seat. "You grab that nice ass!"

More than a few of the women present were amused to see him blush at that. Naruto pulled his hand away from her posterior as if burnt and pointedly looked away from everyone else. Well… they have a few hours to kill… what can they do in that amount of time that does _not_ end up with him bedding them?

Then, he got an idea and gave the assembled women a smile that sent chills running up their spine. For some reason...they did _not_ like that smile.


	22. Chapter 21

When Clare and Yuma came back to the hideout two to three hours later, they were bewildered and in the formers case, bemused, to see the rest of their friends lying face down on the ground; some had their asses raised as if they had tried to sit up, but gave up halfway there. And in the middle of them, looking nonchalant about everything, sat Naruto looking like he had barely drawn a sweat.

"What happened here?" A bewildered Yuma asked.

"...Naruto's a slave driver…" Cynthia groaned.

Clare slowly nodded and she took in everyones current state. "I see. Someone, possibly Helen, had irritated him." She said, sounding as if a great revelation had been unfolded.

Said woman lifted her head to give Clare a weak glare. "Oi! What makes you think _I_ had something to do with this?!" She demanded.

"Because it's _you._ " Clare replied without changing her tone. The former Number 22 didn't say anything; actions spoke louder than words, and Helen put lowered her face to the ground again without a word. Clare nodded to herself with a feeling of victory welling up inside her.

Chuckling Naruto went and helped everyone sit up one by one, with Clare and Yuma going to help. Once everyone was upright and sitting down, Naruto turned his attention to Clare and Yuma.

"Any luck?" He asked them, but mostly Clare.

"I want to go South, past Pieta." Clare said, blunt and straight to the point. What she told them had surprised everyone, even if they hid it well.

Only Helen was vocial enough to voice her incredulousness at the request. "What?! Go South past Pieta?! Are you crazy?! You wanna make yourself a target of the Organization?!" She demanded hotly, with a very annoyed look on her pretty face.

"Raki doesn't know I'm here in the North." Clare pointed out to her, and reminding everyone else that neither of them except for Naruto, had even set foot outside of Alphonse in Seven Years. "Not only that… he must think I don't even know he passed through this region. I can't believe that Raki could've stayed up in the North for the past seven years. If he's alive, then he must be in the South." She added while also bringing up her well thought out reasons.

"Huh? Again with that crap?!" Helen hissed.

"You've been searching for that kid for the past Seven Years and no clues of him being here in the North have turned up." Eva calmly told the former Number 47 with a sigh and a shake of her head.

"Naruto is still keeping his promise to you and even his searches have ended up with dead ends." Flora told her friend in an attempt to let her down as gently as possible.

"Clare…" Deneve sighed with reluctance, "Sorry, but at this point I have to say… I'm afraid that boy must be…"

Miria stopped Deneve from finishing her sentence by holding out her hand. "It is true that because we took more aura-suppressing pills after the battle and left Pieta, we had no way of knowing whether anyone that passed through Pieta, were human or Youma. It's even possible that Naruto may have misread the auras of everything living during that day. But even so, the chances are very slim. I want to hear the reasons why you believe in something with almost zero probability."

Everyone was quiet and looked at Clare with expectancy. Naruto however was looking at the ground in deep contemplation; he was missing something. It was gnawing at him; but for the life of him he had no idea why that was. It was something about that day… when he was sensing those Awakened Beings in Sage Mode…

"I found evidence that Raki was in a village in the North. In a dungeon." Clare revealed, surprising everyone even Naruto who halted his contemplation for a moment to listen. "His cell was the only one still locked. Either his keepers couldn't find the key, or he was left to rot. Anyway, Raki carved out a hole in the wall. If he was by himself, there's no way he could have done it in a day or two. But that was actually lucky. During the Awakened Ones' attack, anyone outside would have been devoured." She paused to gather her thoughts and everyone kept their silence, even during this pause, in order to take in Clare's words. "When Raki emerged from the dungeon and saw how the town had been destroyed, it would've seemed like a hopeless scenario. However, the human food would have been untouched and if he gathered some gear together, it shouldn't have been that difficult to survive. After that, companions… a horse… if he managed to get both..." She trailed off.

Miria closed her eyes and rested her hands near her chin. Then with a sigh she opened her eyes and said, "An unconvincing theory… What a foolish idea." She stated, drawing a blink and a blank stare from Clare.

"Actually…" Naruto started, drawing all eyes on him. His contemplation on what he sensed seven years ago having been all but forgotten. "While it may be an 'unconvincing theory' and a 'foolish idea' in your eyes, in _my_ line of work that would be a lead. Granted, it's a lead that's been cold for seven years, but it's a start."

"Oh? And what would you do?" Miria asked; she was legitimately curious as to what he would do in this situation.

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes to gather his thoughts. It was time for _his_ tactical mind to shine. "I would take this opportunity to find out what the hell happened to the Awakened Ones that were part of Isley's army. There's no way they had gone unnoticed; and you _cannot_ deny the Awakened Ones having banded together would have had consequences."

"Haven't you befriended an Awakened One? What was her name… Elda? Can't you just ask her?" Jean asked; if she had an eyebrow, it would have been raised by now.

"...Elda would have me fuck her first before answering any questions I have." Naruto flatly reminded the eyebrowless woman.

It certainly helped the woman was pretty to look at, but there was a ravenous hunger in her eyes whenever she looked at him. While it did get him rather… excited, when she gave him those 'fuck me' bedroom eyes the woman was more inclined to give him the answer to his questions, _if_ he gave her what she wanted. In her case it just so happened to be fucking her stupid. And that arrangement started when she came to gauge his threat level against her fellow Awakened Ones some time after the Battle of Pieta. It ended up with her going into her Awakened transformation... Him on top of her… and his dick thrusting into her snake cootch fast and hard until she was a blubbering mess. Flora had a goddamn _field day_ when she saw that.

"You sure like it whenever that happens~!" Said woman cooed mischievously; Naruto wasn't going to dignify that with a response, because in truth, he _did_ enjoy fucking that snake bitch silly.

"...That aside, there is also no guarantee that she would know." Deneve said, with Naruto nodded in agreement.

Naruto cleared his throat and picked up where he left off. "Another reason to leave… is because a lot of you have things to do. Isn't that right, Miria?"

"Eh?" Helen looked at Miria with wide blinking eyes, as were everyone else. "What's he mean by that?"

Miria apparently heard enough as she stood up and leveled Clare with a firm stare. "Draw your sword, Clare." She demanded while getting up with her claymore in hand. The sandy-brunette completely ignored the aghast looks being sent her way as Clare obediently grabbed her claymore and followed her out of the cave.

The other women, and man, exchanged looks before they quickly donned their cloaks, armour, and grabbed their sword's before they followed the two women out.

* * *

By the time the other 16 got outside, Clare and Miria were standing opposite of each other. Neither women were doing anything other than staring at one another. And given they had their swords in their hands, whatever was going through their heads was pretty serious.

"Woah, hey!" Helen cried out. "What the hell's going on?!" She then turned to her friend and said, "Deneve, don't just stand there we've gotta stop-"

"Just shut up and watch," the woman interrupted bluntly.

"So, how am I supposed to take this?" Clare asked. "If I go south, you'll kill me?"

"I really don't care how you take this," was Miria's answer. Cold, biting and blunt; it really got through to the others that she was really serious about this duel. Then, she melted into a blur of motion with one last declaration. "With all of your strength… Come."

While she was a blur of motion for the others, Naruto was able to keep track of Miria's movements. Granted, she was fast but he saw and fought people who were faster than her. Not to mention she wasn't as fast as she was before when she used her Phantom with yoki being used. However… even he will admit that being in this world for a near decade had dulled his reflexes somewhat. There was no grand battle where your opponent can reshaping entire landscapes here with but a single technique. But Naruto _will_ admit Miria can make him go into Sage Mode _immediately_ if she wanted to. Her aura, her yoki, was suppressed to the point he had to focus on finding her. That didn't mean she could fight him on even grounds because let's be real here when you can reshape entire landscapes, make solid clones, transform yourself and do a bunch of other stuff then scaling would be pretty useless.

The only ones that made him put any 'effort' were Rigardo… and even that was a fluke. And Riful… though that admittedly was him without even trying. He didn't even have to go into Sage Mode to fight her, which was surprising in hindsight since he learned from Miria that the Abyssal Ones are _The_ Strongest. The only time he ever did go into Sage Mode was to knock her pretty little ass out. Actually… it's entirely possible she's been holding back as well which would be the reason why she lost: she underestimated him. Even when she transformed the Abyssal One of the West had underestimated him. Well, that made getting the _fuck_ out of the Western region as soon as possible a good decision on his part. In all honesty, he was surprised that she didn't follow him out, though he guessed that the Abyssal One of the West was avoiding Isley at that point in time.

Naruto's head snapped in the direction of the duel when he heard a crash, his train of thought coming to a screeching halt. Clare was in the middle of hopping out of the way as Miria's claymore turned the ground she was standing on into rubble. The ground almost shook from the impact.

"A Phantom move!?" Helen cried out in surprise.

"And for real!" Deneve added, sounding just as surprised as her friend was.

Miria didn't let up in her assault and swiped her claymore at Clare with one arm; the sharp edge of Clare's claymore met her own with a loud _CLANG_ as they clashed. Then Miria's sword turned before it and the woman herself became a blur of motion again as she _moved_ , going from being in front of Clare to behind her at a moment's notice and she was already in the motion of striking at her back!

But Clare was already moving, she had turned to face this threat and her claymore met Miria's once more. Clare hopped back, blocking and parrying Miria's controlled and precise strikes while the woman pursued her unrelentingly.

"Well, well, well," a new, feminine voice sounded from behind Naruto… one he recognised as Elda. She couldn't help but be drawn to the racket Clare and Miria were causing and came to check it out, if only out of curiosity. "What have we here?"

Naruto cleared his throat. "A dispute," he replied evasively. "Nothing for you to worry about." While he said that the blond was wondering where the _hell_ she came from. How did she sneak up on them without him knowing?!

"Oh? This looks more than a dispute." The other women, fortunately, or unfortunately, were completely ignoring the Awakened One that had joined in this little observation. They were too focused on the fighting women to take notice.

Miria had at this point, became three and it was undeterminable just who was the real one. If Naruto hadn't seen it in action before, he would have thought she somehow cloned herself. One of the Mirias dashed behind Clare and she turned to face her as Miria had her sword brought behind her back… only for that Miria's leg to fade away. Gritting her teeth Clare looked ahead and blocked the sword of the _real_ Miria that came close to hitting her.

"She's incredible!" Helen breathed in awe. "Is that…?"

"Yes." Deneve answered her friend's unasked question, "This is something Miria has spent these past seven years perfecting… a new Phantom move."

Three Mirias circles around Clare again and the woman was unable to discern who was the real Miria. "Damn!" The blonde cursed, before slashing at one of the Mirias. Her claymore went through the woman like she was a phantom, then she was on the defence once more by the real Miria.

"Without relying on bursts of youma power, and keeping her energy suppressed she's built up her baseline speed. That's the new phantom." Deneve explained to her friend and the other women. "Even though it lacks her previous degree of speed, it provides an advantage in that she can now use much more subtle movements than she had been able to before. And above all… its greatest strength is that can she do it an unlimited number of times."

Miria's face was blank, utterly expressionless, but the glint of determination to see if Clare had what it takes was in her eyes. Clare the woman was stubborn and was not giving up, even if Miria had circled around her, and used her mirage to fake her out Clare would bounce back before Miria could land a hit. They were at a stalemate.

"Quite terrifying, I must say," Elda commented from her position, sitting cross-legged on a ledge just above the cave. "You and your harem are full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I don't have a harem!" Naruto automatically said like it was out of sheer reflex. Yeah, the women are good looking… and many of them _do_ want to bed him… but they're _not_ his harem!

He wasn't in denial about it; they're _not_ his harem.

"I think they'd beg to differ," Elda giggled teasingly, "but if you say so…" Again, the other women were ignoring the fact there was an Awakened One amongst them.

Then Clare was knocked to the ground with a well-placed strike with Miria's claymore. Falling on her back, Clare was inhaling and exhaling audibly while Miria's breathing was more controlled. Then Miria lowered her claymore while Clare got back up on her feet and put her claymore back into its holder, there was a look of fierce determination on Clare's face as the two friends stared each other down.

"Here it comes." Was all Deneve said.

There was a loud clang as Miria's sword was seemingly deflected by an unseen force as she came in for another attack. Flora smiled proudly, knowing full well what happened. With several more clangs, the dozens of attacks that followed received the same treatment. Clare was in the middle, while there looked to be six Mirias surrounding the lone woman, all of whom were getting their attacks blocked and deflected.

While everyone else was in awe at the very fast pace action that even Naruto was having trouble keeping track of, only one person was voiced what they were thinking.

"Woah! So cool!" Helen exclaimed with a wide open mouth. "Neither one's giving up!"

"It's almost impossible to use the Quick-Sword style with our youma energy sealed away. She's probably worked harder than any of us these past seven years." Deneve stated analytically with deeply seeded impressiveness in her voice. "Accelerating her essential sword speed without releasing any youma energy, this style mainly requires concentration and right arm strength."

"Instead of using the Quick-Sword, she's responding by using _my_ technique, the Windcutter." Flora said proudly; she had never felt so satisfied when the lowest ranking claymore in the organization had learned her technique. If she had a gauge Clare's status, she would be in the Single Digits by now… probably somewhere between Numbers 4 and 6. "I taught her, myself. The girl's such a good student; she just absorbs everything you teach her like a sponge, I swear."

Clare pulled out her claymore a slight tinge… and she hopped. The ground below her and Miria gained lacerations before Miria was forced to withdraw. Both Clare and Miria's feet landed on the ground a small ways away from one another, both of them were breathing heavy.

"There's one thing I want to ask you." Miria started, "Is searching for that boy Raki the only reason you want to go South?"

"No." Clare replied as she straightened herself. "I always meant to go there eventually. Raki is just one reason."

Miria was silent for a moment as she stared, searchingly. "Then… what are your other reasons?" She asked; the woman was legitably curious.

"I don't plan to say. There's just various things left to do in the South. The many souls that are within me… won't allow me to idle my days here in the North." Clare was referring to three people she had met, one of whom had died to a certain Awakened One many years ago when she was a little girl. Another whose family had been eaten by said Awakened One. And another, who had been there on that day when she had lost everything all over again and was forced to go into hiding for her failure.

Neither of them knew that, however. Naruto, on the other hand, did have _some_ idea but had nothing to go on.

Miria stared at Clare, unblinkingly, before raising her claymore and putting it away, surprising Clare. "Alright, with that good of an arm, you won't lose to even the single digit ranks of the Organization." That admission shocked Clare even as Miria looked to the others, "Sorry to say about this, but as of today, I am resigning as this group's leader. From now on, you're all free to go your own way."

"What?" Helen once more spoke what was on everyone's mind.

Miria however, was not done. "I'm going South with her… to defeat the enemies of our friends and comrades." Her words shocked everyone… except for Elda who was kicking her feet back and forth from her place on top of the cave entrance, and looking positively bored doing so. But she held her tongue. "Don't worry. During the past seven years, each of us has been building our strength. And as long as you stay in the North you won't be attacked by the Organization, so-"

She was interrupted by the sound of drilling… that was coming from Helen. Thanks to her stretchy limbs, Helen was easily able to replicate Jeans Drillsword… as Naruto offhandedly predicted Seven Years prior. The woman had her left hand on her sword arm. "Hey, hey, Miria. You're being a little cold aren't you?" Helen said with a cocky grin, "You aren't the only one who's been thinking about taking down our comrades' enemies."

"Helen…" Miria was surprised.

Deneve sighed, "She's right. Otherwise, what was the point of training these last seven years 'til we puked blood? For just living to hide in the North… it's a little too much power."

"Deneve…" Miria was touched.

"Exactly," Zelda chimed in, drawing the sandy-brunette's attention. "I have a score to settle after seeing so many of my companions fall like that."

"We all do," Queenie added with a determined look in her eye. Many of the other women stepped forward with looks of determination on their faces. Neither of them was budging on the matter.

"For Veronica… and our other comrades… I want revenge too." Cynthia stated.

"My captain is now and always will be Miria. If my captain is going, then I'm going with her." Tabitha, loyal to the end.

"Queenie… Cynthia… Tabitha…" Miria just looked at them. She was at an utter loss for words.

"Uh… me too, please." Yuma chimed in politely. "I know I'll just be a burden. But, I don't want to end like this either. If it comes down to it, I don't care if you cast me aside… _Please…_ "

"I'm the same," Juliana added, stepping up beside Yuma. "You might not find me as much use as the others, but, I want to be useful too."

"You two need to stop selling yourselves short," Naruto commented. "As Pervy Sage once told me: it's often the dead lasts that have the most potential. I mean, just look at Clare! She was weaker than either of you and now she's going toe-to-toe with _Miria_."

Miria just stared even as everyone took in his words. Then she closed her eyes and exhaled. "Hm… this coming fight isn't going to be like the one seven years ago, which was a fight for survival. In a certain sense, it's a fight I'm ready to sacrifice my life for. And it will probably be much harsher than the one seven years ago. The life we managed to save, with both Naruto and Jiraiya's help, no one would blame you for choosing to spend it here in the North."

Queenie was tempted to say, "I would if I was dead!" but she didn't want to seem _too_ much of a bitch. So she kept her mouth shut.

"I even suspect our fallen comrades would wish us to stay alive. Considering all this, will you still not change your minds?" Miria asked them all. No one said anything, and Helen merely chuckled as if to say 'You _do_ know who you're talking to...don't you?'. Miria exhaled and lowered her head. "I see. Everyone's of the same mind."

"Just beware of Priscilla," Elda chimed in. "That girl has some terrifying power at her command. Avoid her if at all possible."

Helen jumped and she, along with everyone else looked to Elda, "Wah!? How long were _you_ there for?!" She demanded pointing a shaking hand at the Awakened One who was _still_ sitting on top of the hideout entrance.

"Since Miria showed off her new Phantom technique," Elda answered honestly with a shrug. "I came to check on what was causing all that racket and decided to stick around. Don't mind me."

If she wanted to cause them harm, she probably could. Even with Naruto's help, she'd probably take a few of them down with her, given Elda's power. Then again, that was her assumption; she had no idea of Naruto's true capabilities. Either way, she was confident that she was stronger than any of the warriors here were individually by a significant margin.

They'd have to work together to take her out and her awakened form's mobility would prove to be quite the troublesome advantage were they to come to blows and clearly, all of them knew it they regarded her warily.

The slight stiffening from Clare at the mention of that one's name had told many a person that this Priscilla person is someone she wants to see dead. They had no idea why though since the blonde was rather tight-lipped about it.

"...Just how dangerous _is_ this Priscilla?" Naruto asked.

"She's beyond the power of the Abyssal Ones. I saw her once, and I'll never forget her face. Her yoki aura was massive. It felt bottomless. Even if all three Abyssal Ones were to band together, she would still defeat them, I'm sure."

That… sent shivers up many a spine present.

As for Naruto... "Sounds just like old times…" He said wistfully.

Elda giggled at that. "Someone's more powerful than he lets on… and has a mysterious past to boot. You have no idea how attractive that is~!"

"Thanks. I guess?" Naruto had no idea how to react to that other than accepting the compliment.

"So…" Juliana began awkwardly. "What's the plan, then?"

"Well… I don't know about you, but Clare said she wants to head South. Miria wants to head South with her. And you all agreed to go with." Naruto pointed out remindfully. "I think that's the plan so far. I can keep an eye out for any strange activity though. I _was_ trained by a Spy Master after all, so those skills I got from him will come in handy when it comes to recovering information."

He can find out what the hell happened in Mucha as well. Isley went South with Priscilla and last he recalled, Mucha _was_ Luciela of the South's territory. He actually met the woman before… way back before he tag-teamed with Flora. It was around… a week of being in this world that he first ran into her. He had no idea who she was at the time but the initial impression he had of the auburn-haired woman was that she was polite and well-spoken.

He sent clones down to Mucha to check up on her, sometime after the Battle of Pieta when no one else was paying attention, because Abyssal One or not, the woman _was_ polite and friendly for the most part. Solitary for sure, but he treated her like a friend and so did she. There was a huge fight that occurred between the Abyssal One of the North and the Abyssal One of the South, a fight that apparently made it feel like there was an earthquake that could be felt East, West and the Centre regions. By the end of it, Luciela was MIA and Isley had gone into hiding. Riful and her dumb muscle of a consort were apparently in the area too, as she had wanted to team up with Luciela from the looks of it but arrived too late. The clone stayed the _fuck_ away though since he had a feeling if he showed himself that 14-year-old looking girl would pull a bitch fit and go after him instead. Still, Luciela of the South was still MIA… and he wanted to go check on her and see if she was alright.

"I'd most certainly be willing to help," Elda chirped. "Can't have my cute, little fuckbuddy getting himself hurt, after all."

"Uh...huh…" Naruto had no idea what to say to that. "Well," he started after clearing his throat, "If you all have everything you need we can head on down South."

"Well… we _do_ have some food and water in our little hideout." Flora said as she looked to the cave in question. "It would be a shame if it were to go unused."

Naruto let out a sigh and made a few clones who quickly jogged into the hideout to get all the food, water and waterskins sealed up. "They'll catch up. Now that's taken care of, let's move… I'm freezing here."

Miria and Clare didn't need to worry about leaving their cloaks behind, Lucia was considerate enough to bring them with her. No one had noticed the cloaks being in her hands, nor did they notice when the former Number 12 handed them to the women.

As the 19 of them started to head down South, past Pieta Helen threw her arm around Naruto's shoulders and pointedly leaned against him. "Well, _I_ can keep you nice and warm while we make our way Southwards, if you want lover boy~" She cooed, wagging her eyebrows mischievously. To his credit, Naruto kept calm, as he was very used to her antics.

His eye twitched when Flora _and_ Elda were both heard giggling with mischief. Flora was planning something, he knew she was. Eva… he had no idea what was going through that one's head. Instead of fighting it, Naruto for the first time, decided to just go with the flow.

"Sure," He shrugged, "you can keep me warm if you want. But _you_ have to let me grope you in return." Of course, he'll play fire with fire. He'll get 'burned' but sometimes to fight fire, you have to _use_ fire.

"Ooh~!" Helen cooed. "You've got yourself a deal~!" Then she grinned and looked to her friend, "Oi! Deneve! You wanna get in on this too?" If she says no, then she'll ask Jean… and if she says no, then the former Number 22 will just ask the others until she gets a positive answer.

"Eh, why not?" Deneve asked with a nonchalant shrug. Then she strode on up and took Naruto's other side and put her arm around his waist.

What was Naruto's response to having two women having their arm around his shoulder and waist? He grabbed Helen's breast and Deneve's ass and started kneading and caressing them, moulding the tit and ass flesh like they were made of clay. Both women let out aroused mewls as they leaned against him and pressed against his palm to get more of the pleasant tingles he was giving them.

"Well, well," Flora giggled. "That's a pleasant surprise."

"I blame you entirely," Naruto commented. "You corrupted me to a point beyond repair." Not that he was complaining. "We might take a while to head south, just so you ladies know."

"I certainly don't mind," Natalie chirped. Many a woman rolled their eyes at that, _I bet you don't_ , their eyes seemed to say.

While they chatted amongst each other, their pace didn't slow down in the slightest… at least not until they found a place to rest for a bit along the way Soon, they would be out of the 'No Man's Land' that is Alphonse and in Toulouse, the central region of their current known world.


	23. Chapter 22

**Two weeks and six days later…**

A group of four claymores were in a wooded area, likely somewhere in Toulouse, Lautrec, or Mucha. The four of them were either standing around or sitting _on_ the corpse of an Awakened One. Purple blood was seeping out of its wounds like a river, showing it had been killed fairly recently by the women.

Two of the women had short hair, one of the two was buch-looking in appearance. The other two had long hair, though one of them had hers tied in a ponytail. The other had long, straight pale-blonde hair that reached to her bosom.

The butch-looking woman and the long haired one with her hair down, known as Rachel and Audrey, the current Numbers 5 and 3, were the ones who were sitting on the corpse of the Awakened One.

"Hey. Did you hear the news?" Rachel suddenly asked.

"What news?" Audrey questioned, feigning disinterest.

"Nina's team was hunting an Awakened One in the North." The Number 5 clarified.

"Yeah, I heard they were then attacked by three Awakened Ones. Pity… when will they be replaced?" Rachel didn't catch the entire rumour; just that Nina's team had ran into three Awakened Ones while on the hunt and presumed they were killed in action. Nina is not… the greatest at making strategies, or making friends for that matter.

"Well, the rumour is they aren't dead. Someone there saved them."

Audrey looked over to Rachel with an incredulous look on her face. "Saved them? There's no one in the wasteland of the North. Who could it be?"

At that Rachel smiled. "Maybe… it was the ghosts of the Fallen Warriors from seven years ago?"

If only she knew.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Sutare, within the Headquarters of the Organization, the Number 47, 'Colour Head' Clarice stood amongst the Organization's council in a dimly lit hall. A wide, barren room with many chairs situated atop two rows of steps. Elder Rimuto was among them, while many more handlers sat on the chairs beside him - with the Elder himself taking up the middle - and several Handlers standing near the windows.

Clarice was finishing up on giving her report on what she had born witness to on her first Awakened Being Hunt.

Rimuto stared down at the brunette, stoic-faced with his hands clasped together below his chin. "So then… the person who rescued you had the ability to manipulate the very earth?"

"Yes." Clarice confirmed, doing her best to hide her nervousness in front of these men. "But when he did it he used no yoki… Nina, Elise, and Camilla all confirmed it. He made the ground rise up and form a wall to block projectiles that would have strucken all of us, and then he bound them down using hands that was made of the very ground itself. And when he allowed Nina, Elise and Camilla to behead them the bodies were crushed before the carcasses was pulled into the ground."

"Did he say anything else?" A nameless man asked from off to the side, prompting Clarice to look at him; he was completely bald and clean shaven. And the way the light illuminated him from the back gave off a creepy vibe.

"Yes." Clarice confirmed once more. "He talked to us after the Awakened Ones were dealt with. I asked him if all 24 warriors that had taken part in the Battle of the North had all been killed. He informed us that he personally buried their bodies and used their claymores as Grave Markers, though out of 24 claymores only 9 remained the last time he checked as they had been stolen or lost over the years. Camilla was the one who asked about the Youma Hunter, however..." Clarice paused for a moment, it was a hesitation that everyone else picked up. "The stranger claimed he _was_ the Youma Hunter… before he vanished on us before we could do anything to stop him or ask more questions."

That threw the men in for a loop, and they all exchanged looks.

"...So, he was alive all this time?" One of the other man, a man with a bowl cut asked aloud.

"A-apparently…?" Clarice replied nervously. "From what he told us, he had fought and killed six Awakened Ones by himself, before one called Rigardo confronted him. And in their ensuing battle, the Youma Hunter was seemingly cut down but managed to cripple Rigardo that enabled the warriors to kill him later on. He later woke up covered in his own blood and found Pieta in ruins and everyone dead when he went to check for survivors."

"Well, it makes sense that he'd be in hiding," Rubel chimed in, seeming far less phased than he was. "If I remember correctly, he was quite infatuated with Windcutter Flora, so her death likely affected him rather harshly. Still, that's quite the impressive performance, I must say."

Clarice couldn't help but wince sympathetically. For someone to lose a lover in such a way… she couldn't imagine the kind of pain he was going through.

"...Should we dispatch someone to find him?" One of the many nameless Handlers asked. "Perhaps Renee? His ability to accurately track, and pinpoint a single or group of youmas like our Eye is still of interest to us. As is his capability to move as fast as a single digit. Add in his capability to manipulate the very earth itself…"

"It wouldn't do any good." Rubel smirked that smug, little smirk of his as he added, "The Youma Hunter is human despite his feats. And what you all seem to forget within these past seven years is that despite the prowess he has so far revealed, he is a trained assassin. Given that he has no yoki, not even our greatest aura detector would be able to find him."

Rimuto closed his eyes in contemplation while the other Handlers watched on in silence. Then, one man who looked like that had gotten into a surgery gone wrong as he has a makeshift eye patch that was more of a buckle covering his left eye, spoke up.

"Even if we were to send a four-woman group to find the Youma Hunter, the possibility they will find him is extremely slight. Windcutter Flora had found him by sheer luck seven years ago, due to a warrior spotting him in the area. And before that, no one was able to track him down as he disappeared as soon as he appeared. If he is staying in the North, it's quite probably a matter we can leave alone."

After some more contemplation Rimuto came to a decision. "Alright. Just as always we'll place one single digit and three lower numbers in the North. However, promote Number 9 to Number 7. Adjust the other numbers accordingly and reinforce the troop strength. That is all."

With that everyone got up and started to leave the hall, with Rubel adjusting his hat. _"A matter we can leave alone…"_ the man thought sarcastically, _"the Youma Hunter's defeated an Abyssal One, is capable of moving as fast as a single digit warrior, being able to track many a youma and Claymore. He is also capable of manipulating the very earth itself and has possibly more up tricks up his sleeve. It is quite possible he used his prowess to save as many of the warriors as possible during the Great Battle. It's very likely that one of them was the former Number 6, Miria. I can't imagine she'd obediently follow the Organization's orders and die like a dog and has made some kind of contingency plan."_ He, however, kept his thoughts to himself he'll let these people stew in their own self-superiority.

Clarice, on the other hand, was left at a loss. "Uh… Um." the brunette quickly turned to the closest person to her and caught his attention. "Um, excuse me? Mister Rado, I…"

"Enough about the Northern region. Go and assist Miata." He told the brunette with a commanding tone.

"Miata…? You mean Number 4?" Clarice asked for clarification.

Rado had stopped and fully turned to face her by this point. "She has exceptional talent. Enough to be Number 1. But she's emotionally unstable. You'll need to assist her in dealing with ordinary people. She has returned to Headquarters. See to her." With that Rado turned and walked away.

* * *

Later, Clarice ventured forth to meet this Miata girl, passing by several stone huts as an ominous wind blew. Many of them were built into the very mountain the Headquarters of the Organization was positioned and looked the same.

Eventually, the brunette came to a stop in front of a hut and looked at the wooden door. _"Here?"_ she thought to herself. She pulled on the hoop of a door handle and the door slowly creaked open.

The room within was in complete darkness, the only source of light was coming through the door Clarice had just opened. And inside the room itself, it was completely barren. There weren't any windows either. It was a room for complete isolation. And sitting near the back of the room, partially in shadow, was a young girl with very long straight hair that is covering most of her face. Strands of her hair was strewn all over the place around her. And laid flat on the ground behind the girl was her claymore.

The girl looked to be naked at first glance, but she was in actuality, wearing her two-piece bodysuit. Her long hair, the way she was sitting and the shadow combined made it seem like she was naked.

"Mm mm mm mm mm."

And the girl was humming to herself, seemingly dead to the world.

A nervous Clarice swallowed the lump that formed in her throat before taking a deep breath to calm her raging nerves, lest she run out of the barren room out of sheer terror. "Uh… ex-excuse me. Uh… I'm… Number 47, Clarice. I was ordered to be your assistant…"

"Mm mm mm mm," Miata just kept humming to herself, completely ignoring the woman.

"Ah… you…" Dampening her suddenly dry lips Clarice took a single step forward. And suddenly Miata _moved_. Clarice blinked in shock as the young girl moved faster than she could react; all the brunette could see was the ends of the girl's hair flowing in the wind as the girl got behind her before she could react! "Huh?!" She felt Miata grab her spaulder, "Wha-?" and she was roughly, aggressively, thrown to the ground before she could even _reach_ for her own sword.

Suddenly, Miata was pinning the older woman underneath her, the sharp end of the girl's claymore was pressed threateningly against her neck. "Did you kill them?" She demanded, glaring down at Clarice with a single, wide and glaring silver eye. "Papa and… Mama…" She trailed off as if coming to a sudden realization.

"Ah… No…! I... I…" Clarice was trying to think of something, _anything_ , to get this girl to stop from hurting her. She was so scared of the girl that she completely missed the affectionate look on the girl's face.

"Mama…" Suddenly, Miata grabbed Clarice's top in a firm grip and _tore_ it from the seams before the poor brunette could react.

"Wha…" Clarce stared on as the shredded fabric of her top was tossed aside by the younger girl on top of her. Then Miata looked down at her with a hunger. And it made Clarice scared for her own life. "WH-WHAT ARE YOU…? STOP IT, MIATA!"

The girl in question dashed down and latched her lips to Clarice's nub.

"NO! STOP, PLEASE!" Cried out a begging Clarice, only for her to stop and look down at the girl in shock when the brunette felt the girl suckling her nipple like a baby. And just like that, realization struck her like a sack full of bricks.

" _A child."_ Thought the thrououghly shocked brunette.

The room was filled with Miata's suckling and the girl's mumbled, but affectionate and childish, "Mama… Mama…"

" _This little child… is the Organization's Number 4?"_ While Miata was suckling away an astonished Clarice raised a shaking hand, before placing it on the back of the girl's head, the other soon joined and Clarice hugged the child to her. She stared up at the ceiling, her mind wheeling in shock, _"What in the world… is happening with us?"_

* * *

Meanwhile, a group of 18 women and one young man came to a stop on top of a hill. For miles on end, their eyes were met with clear blue skies, and green fields no matter where they looked. It was a welcoming change of scenery and one person was _very_ vocal about it.

"WAHOO!" Helen cheered her joy. "It's been a long time since I saw blue skies and green fields! I was so totally sick of a world that was pure white everywhere I looked!"

"Calm down, Helen." Deneve said to her friend.

"C'mon! The landscape has _colour!_ I can't get enough of it!" Helen let out another joyous laugh as she spread her arms and spun around while taking in the scenery.

Naruto was in full agreement with Helen. After spending seven goddamn _years_ in a landscape that was nothing but ice and snow, and sheet, he was more than a little happy to be somewhere that's _warm_ and has freaking colour! Because he won't be freezing his balls off anymore! God _damn_ , the cold _sucked!_ He was lucky he didn't get hypothermia or worse, _frostbite_. Those heat generating seals worked wonders - he was more than a little jealous of the girls. They can walk around buck ass naked and they wouldn't even notice the cold.

He saw Flora, Miria and Jean of all people do it a few times in the past while they were hiding. He had no idea if it was for training purposes, or what, he would bet his arm on it if they were doing it for the sole purpose of enticing him.

Speaking of Miria, she looked to Tabitha and said, "Tabitha." with expectancy in her voice. Everyone else quieted down and waited.

"Okay." The woman knew what her captain wanted and she closed her eyes and used her newly used wide range yoki sensing. After a moment Tabitha relayed what she had discovered to the others. "Within the range, I can sense, I don't see any Awakened Ones or Creatures of the Abyss. I sense twelve warriors… As for the ones that might be single digits, two are straight ahead, two are at my 2 o'clock and there is one more at my 10 o'clock. With the two straight ahead, there are the auras of two more, for a total of four. I think that they probably just finished an Awakened Being hunt."

"I see… So the conditions inside the Organization don't seem to have changed." Miria stated; if there was one thing she was happy about, it would be that. While she may no longer be their captain anymore, she did put their safety above her own and didn't like unknown variables.

"What happened to the remaining Awakened Beings we fought in the North?" Helen asked; that was one thing that's been on her mind for a while ever since Naruto told them about it. "As Naruto pointed out nearly three weeks ago, they couldn't have gone unnoticed. And if they headed to the Organization, their numbers would have been too much for them."

"All we can do is speculate at this point in time." Miria replied. "However, the most probable outcome is that they had ran rampant and were later killed by the new generation of warriors one by one."

"Another outcome is that Isley could have split them in half while he and Priscilla went south. Send one half to distract the West and the other half to distract the East." Naruto added. "And since he hasn't been seen in the North since then, it's safe to say Isley did just that and usurp the South from Luciela while Riful and the Organization was distracted, and by the time they realize what Isley's planning it would be too late. I wouldn't be surprised if Riful and Luciela tried to team up against the threat Isley posed to them thanks to him having Priscilla by his side…" He paused and a look of realization slowly grew on his face as he turned to regard Jean, "...and if that's the case, then that might have been why Riful was trying to get you to Awaken Jean, and why she had killed many claymores before you."

"She was trying to muster a force of her own in order to combat the threat Isley posed to her." Said Jean as she had came to the same conclusion as he did.

"And by getting powerful claymores to Awaken and on her side, she would be able to combat him. But if what Elda said about Priscilla being able to fight all three Abyssals at the same time and win, was true… it would have been futile in the end." Naruto let out a sigh and crossed his arms while he thought in contemplation. "But, as Miria said before, this is just speculation on my part. But if Isley _did_ go to Mucha…" he let out a sigh as a hint of worry seeped into his voice.

"..." Quite a few women were giving him suspicious looks as they picked up on it.

"...You sound kinda worried for the Abyssal One of the South." Queenie said aloud with suspicion in her voice.

Naruto blinked and looked at her. Sure enough, the blond was getting some odd looks from the other women. "...uh… that's because… I… am?"

"...Why?" While she wasn't giving him an accusing look, Flora _was_ curious. Sure Elda was an Awakened One but that was a completely different thing. She came to him and established herself as… 'relatively' harmless. Even if she did originally intend to see if he was a threat to other Awakened Ones. Luciela, however…

"I…" Naruto took in a deep breath and exhaled. "I guess it had to come out eventually. I met Luciela before. This was three months before Flora and I hooked up mind you, and I had no idea what she was at the time. I treated her as a friend and she did the same back, and well, we became fast friends. That's why I'm worried: she's my friend."

"Woah woah woah, back up a minute here." Zelda quickly said, "Let me get this straight: you met the Abyssal One of the South, and didn't get eaten?"

"Admittedly, that might have been my insane luck," Naruto replied with a shrug. "But yeah, I met her, became friends, and didn't get eaten."

"...Did you fuck her?" Lily asked with an innocent look on her face.

"No!" Though, in hindsight, that was _not_ for lack of trying on her part. He was just too oblivious to understand the hints she was giving him. Thankfully, the Abyssal One found his naivete to be rather cute. Were that not the case, their relationship might have soured rather quickly.

"Ah. I see. So you aren't a beast of a man that sticks his dick into any woman then." Lily said with a sagely nod of her head.

Naruto blinked and gave her an odd look. "Oi… if anything it's _you_ ladies that are tempting me to do _just_ that."

"Unabashedly, no less," Flora teased. To her amusement, several of the other ladies turned beet red along with Naruto.

"You're just as bad as they are Flora." Naruto deadpanned at her after he got his blush under control. "Out of everyone here you're the one who's goading me into fucking 'em. Granted, I flirt with them, but that's because it's better to make them feel good about themselves rather than make 'em feel disgusted with the way they look."

He was _very_ tempted to ask about that time he saw her, Miria and Jean naked in the snow that one time, but held his tongue. No need to bring that up now.

"Guilty as charged," the former Number 8 giggled.

Naruto let out a sigh and looked to Miria. "You're still the leader here, despite relinquishing your command; so where should we go? Continue heading in the same direction while avoiding the other claymores, or go elsewhere?" While he did want to check on Luciela, he wanted to see what Miria would say first.

Everyone, even Elda, watched Miria in silence as she contemplated on their next move. No matter what decision she would make, everyone would follow her. On a whim, Tabitha went back to using her Wide Range Yoki Sensing just so she could keep an eye on the four claymores ahead of them; that was when she sensed it.

Two yoki auras got within her range. And they were _massive._ "Wait just a minute!" Tabitha cried out, as she grit her teeth in order to mask her fear, "J-just now! Two yoki auras just got within range! Th-they're massive!"

As if the door to a damn had opened, what Tabitha just described washed over everyone else. And many of a woman were outright shaking. Four people recognised the aura of the first one.

Sweat began to drip down Clare's face. "Wha… what the…?"

And as for Naruto, he recognised the aura of the second one.

* * *

Deep within the woods, metallic like ribbons tore through the bark of trees like they were made of wet paper and turned them all into splinters. Off to the side, a silhouette of a person could be seen running alongside the ribbons. And the sound of breaking trees caught the attention of the Claymore group… because those very ribbons were heading directly for them!

"What the hell?!" the girl with the ponytail shouted with a look of genuine alarm on her face.

* * *

Back with Miria and the others, Tabitha was continuing to relay what was happening to the others. "Straight ahead, the Awakened Being Hunting Party is being approached by two large yoki auras. They're fast. And...and...they're t-too big…"

Miria shuddered with wide eyes; now that she can actually sense them the woman could tell Tabitha was _not_ lying.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Helen cried out in disbelief, "Wh-that the hell is with these youma auras?! They're huge!" It was bigger than anything she sensed before.

Clare, Flora and Jean all shivered as memories they had tried so hard to repressed was forced back to the surface. "...ful… Riful...of the West." Clare was outright shivering out of fear. Had the option been on the table she would have soiled herself.

Jean was trembling, on the verge of tears as she collapsed. The screams… those haunting screams… they just won't stop! She couldn't move if her life depended on it!

"C-captain!" Natalie cried out in distress, tending to the former Number 9 without hesitation.

"Riful of the West is one of the three great Awakened Ones! You gotta be kidding me! We leave the North and _this_ is the first thing we run into!?" Helen ranted for the sake of letting out all the stress she was beginning to feel lest it overwhelms her.

Clare didn't say anything, save for gritting her teeth. And Miria, was actively shaking now as the situation dawned on her. "This… is a creature of the Abyss?" That monstrous yoki… for someone to have that much… it seemed unfathomable… and there was someone _else_ out there who was much, much stronger than the Abyssal Ones?

Naruto took a step forward, "...I want you all to stay here and appraise the situation. I know who that second yoki aura belongs to." He did not look forward to his reunion with Riful, but perhaps Luciela can help mitigate that…? Hopefully? One thing was for damn certain if that wasn't the case: Riful would not hold back, this time… and he'd be hard-pressed to blame her.

"Who is it?" Miria asked, no, she _demanded_.

"...It's Luciela of the South." Naruto answered, drawing gasps of shock from the others. "It seems the Abyssal Ones of the South and West are working together. But she looks to be on the sidelines for the moment." Then Naruto pulled his hood over his head to conceal his face, "Wish me luck you lot." He was going to need it...

With that, Naruto bent his knees and leapt off the hill they were on and made a mad dash for the claymores. He took to tree hopping to make himself go faster, as it was a more efficient way of travelling in his personal opinion. Not to mention the very act gave him nostalgia.

* * *

Before the Awakened Being Hunting Party, the amorphous mass of ribbons had morphed into the torso of a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties; her eyes were now in the form of glowing pits of pink, while several ribbons formed her hair. Her torso appeared to be about twice the size as that of a normal human and the remaining ribbons grew in length, and stabbed into the ground to make her tower over the other women.

The four women were silent. Two of the weaker ones were staring up at her in stunned silence, as the severity of their situation slowly dawned on them.

"Good day, Awakened Being Hunters." Riful politely greeted the four women in her metallic-like voice. Off to the side, the silhouette of Luciela could be seen; no one noticed her yet because she was actively suppressing her yoki… and Riful was more 'exposing' than she was so everyone's attention was on her.

"I'm so happy to meet you. It's always nice to meet the new generation." The awakened woman's stance was rather calm and unthreatening, despite her imposing presence, though; her hands were folded before her and she had a pleasant smile on her face as if she were talking to young children. She giggled. "Especially…" Riful began as several of her ribbons came a-crashing down at the feet of two warriors in particular. "Since you two seem absolutely delicious~!"

Those two warriors happened to be Audrey and Rachel, the Numbers 3 and 5. The two of them looked rather calm, and assured of themselves despite being in the presence of an Abyssal One

"To start, why don't we all introduce ourselves? The Single Digit first would be delightful."

"Hold on…" The butch woman began. "Who are you? You can't just appear out of nowhere and start then babbling like an idiot."

Riful was visibly taken aback by that. Well! This one's quite rude, isn't she?

"Hold on Ray," Audrey reprimanded. "Even if she's awakened, she was still once a comrade of ours. You should show respect to your seniors."

That… made her feel old, but the Abyssal One appreciated the sentiment, nonetheless.

Audrey turned her attention to Riful and pressed her left arm against her chest introductively, and gave the Abyssal One a kind smile. "I am Audrey, Number 3, and she is Rachel, Number 5. And judging from your appearance, I assume we are addressing to one of the Creatures of the Abyss, known as Riful of the West. How do you do?" The woman was polite, and respectful even in the face of an enemy such as the one before her.

"My, what a polite child you are. I'm surprised to see than children these days have such good manners." She took a moment to give them an appraising look as she thought aloud, "Numbers 3 and 5… how wonderful." Riful then gave them another polite smile and introduced herself. "My name is Riful. So pleased to meet you."

Rachel huffed. "So this is a creature of the Abyss…?"

Audrey smiled ominously.

"What's the big deal?" Rachel asked nonchalantly, taking Riful by surprise once more.

"Such a potty-mouth as usual," Audrey chided lightly. "Even if you think such things, you shouldn't just say them outright like that."

"Can't be helped," the Number 5 replied, drawing her sword. Her knees bend and the tip of her claymore touching the ground behind her, Rachel then took on what looked like a sloppy rat tail guard, greatly confusing Riful. "But, this old hag needs to learn that times have changed."

* * *

"One single digit is drawing her sword." Tabitha informed her comrades, and the sole Awakened One amongst them. "She plans to fight."

Miria grit her teeth, "Nh…" She hoped Naruto would get there in time. None of those women stood a chance against an Abyssal One. Not the way they are now.

* * *

As for the blond in question, he kept hopping from branch to branch. He could sense that one of them had drawn her sword and was preparing for a fight. "Tch… idiot. Riful is suppressing her yoki to make it seem she's like an average Awakened One, and _none_ of those Single Digits picked up on it yet!"

Those two were part of the new generation? What a rookie mistake! Granted, he's one to talk since he fell for the same trick, he realized that now that he looked back on it. He was told by Riful herself that she was the strongest of her generation, and she's obviously lived for a long time. Long enough for her to pick up some tricks.

But still, those two were severely underestimating their opponent! And Luciela hasn't come out from her little hiding place yet. He pushed a little faster; the more that woman plays around with Riful the quicker her demise will approach.

* * *

"What an unusual stance," Riful commented. Sure, for a longsword, it would have been somewhat functional, if a bit silly with her left elbow so glaringly exposed, but a greatsword was simply too damn long to properly utilize such a guard. "Just what do you intend to do with your sword like that?"

Ignoring the Abyssal One's question, Rachel called out to the other two warriors. "You low-rankers are in the way. Back off!" Her yoki flared as she grinned menacingly. "I'll take care of this crazy octopus woman."

Riful returned the smile with one of her own, her composure unphased as several of her ribbons slithered upwards like snakes coiling for a strike. "Alright," she giggled. "Since it's come to this, I'll just have to teach you some manners."

With that, several of the bladed ribbons shot forth at the Number 5 with blinding speed.

"Maybe that won't be necessary," Rachel shot back, her sword digging into the earth and then… Her eyes turned gold, with the irses slanted like a cats.

Riful was caught by surprise at the sight and sensation of the woman's sword cleaving straight through her ribbons like a hot knife through butter. "W-wha…?!" The _only_ time she had her ribbons sliced through like _that_ was by Naruto seven years ago. But still, this was very surprising! "You _cut_ me? How...?" Then, she spotted the trench and she connected the dots in a flash. "I see...You dug your sword into the ground and used the resistance to accelerate your strike's speed and strength beyond the ordinary. That's how you did it."

"Good call," Rachel commented. "Not bad for a Creature of the Abyss."

Riful perked up in surprise as she felt Audrey try to strike her from behind. Alas, the woman's mighty thrust bounced off the back of Riful's head. "Too bad," the Abyssal One giggled. "Looks like you can't penetrate me." Then, she turned her full attention to the woman and sent dozens of ribbons her way… only to be pleasantly surprised when Audrey gently deflected them all with seemingly no effort. It was like she had deflected her ribbons with the slightest touch, it was dare she say it: gentle.

Audrey leapt back and landed on the ground in a kneel. Riful sent her ribbons Audrey's way, and they slithered and coiled around each other to make a sharpened point. Like a pike. Audrey merely calmly stood up and stared up at the mass of ribbons coming towards her; she smiled, and pointed the tip of her claymore towards it. Then, to Riful's amazement, she calmly redirected the massive spike and with a harsh swing, she sent it back.

As they came flying backwards, the ribbons scattered and imbedded themselves into the ground behind Riful.

"Hey, watch it!" Rachel cried out as she was forced to evade several of them.

The Abyssal One, however, bore a look of utter shock as three of her own ribbons had ended up impaling her.

"Though my sword can't hurt you, it would seem that you can be cut by your own blades," Audrey observed. They were just flesh wounds from the look of it, but it was a start.

Riful just pulled her own ribbons out of her body and the holes sealed themselves up like they were never there. The Abyssal One observed the two women below. The other two are at a small distance away from them, it would take but a moment for her to catch up but right now she has two _fascinating_ women.

Luciela was still off to the side, actively suppressing her yoki while she observed from the shadows. Knowing her, the auburn-haired woman was rolling her eyes at the theatrics she was doing.

"This has been a real surprise. What a contrasting couple you two are." Praised Riful, she turned her attention to Rachel. "One plugs her sword into the ground, and then hacks down everything before her with a Strong Sword." The Abyssal One then turned her gaze to Audrey. "And the other meets all attacks without resistance or strength, and turns their strength against them to form her own attack using a Gentle Sword." A small grin spread across her lips, "I'm honoured, to have met the mighty Number 3 and Number 5." Then Riful's tone turned a tad, condescending, and haughty. "But unfortunately the Gentle Sword won't pierce me. And the Strong Sword can't reach me. It was close, but the two of you can't take me down."

Rachel just _smirked_ up at the Abyssal One. It was full of confidence, overconfidence maybe. "You old hasbeen. You can't understand that times have changed." Then, both she and Audrey shot up like rockets, bolting towards Riful's upper body and using the ribbons that held her up as footholds. As several of her ribbons shot forth in a counterattack, Audrey deflected them just as cheerfully as all the others.

"You fool," Riful cried out upon seeing Rachel wind up for another attack. "Without some resistance, you have no hope of cutting me!"

Rachel's smirk turned to a half-grin half-smirk, at that declaration, looking as if she was about to prove her wrong. "The fool… is YOU!"

Rachel had her arms bend behind her head and her sword behind her. Audrey was in midair behind the Number 5, and she had the edge of her sword pressed against Rachel's. Both women's eyes were were turned gold and looked distinctly cat-like and veins could be seen on their faces.

The Abyssal One of the West _could_ have attacked the two of them right then and there, because they were leaving themselves wide open to an attack. But she didn't for a simple reason… she was deceiving them. Testing them. And those fools were none the wiser. Audrey was still smiling as she used her yoki to hold Rachel's sword in place and amplify the speed and strength of her swords attack.

Rachel roared with victory in her voice,. "This… is the new power!" With that declaration, Audrey released Rachel's blade and the latter brought it down with terrifying force. The sword cleaved into Riful's shoulder, and down her torso.

"Im… Impossible... this..." Riful cried out. Her eyes were wide with obvious pain, and she was gasping as if struggling to breathe.

"Heh. Too bad. While you were sleeping in your deep pit, the world progressed." Rachel mocked the 'wounded' Abyssal one.

"Stop… One more attack and… I will…"" Riful pleaded. Her acting was so genuine that Luciela herself had _almost_ believed she had been hurt. Of course, the Abyssal One of the South was familiar with Riful's Awakened form. So she knew that girl wasn't _really_ wounded.

Rachel pulled her claymore out of the Awakened One's torso with a look that was so assured in her own victory. "Sorry but this is the end." She tried cutting off her head with a single stroke, but her strike was weak and it bounced off harmlessly. "Ch-"

"PLEASE STOP!" Cried out a begging Riful, "If you hit me with a strong attack like the one before… I will…" That was _obviously_ a hint, a bait; and both Audrey and Rachel fell for hook, line and sinker.

"Audrey!" Rachel called out.

"Right!" The woman needed not to hear another word; she knew what to do. They performed the same did they did before, but instead of the strike intending to cleave, it was meant to cut off Riful's head in a single stroke. "TAKE THIS!" She struck… and Riful ducked under it, surprising the Number 5 as it was a move she had not been expecting in the slightest.

"No, not that one. I've seen that already." Riful gently scolded the woman, her previous panic and agony all but gone. "That technique has so many flaws. In addition to its prep time, that attack is very easy to read. Attacking the enemy while their guard is down like that will work but once." She lectured the two women, like a teacher to a student. "I'd like something else. There must be something else, right? Some attack so mighty it can defeat me with just one more hit."

The women just stared at her in befuddlement.

"Oh?" Riful was a little disappointed, really. "You can't mean… that was all you have...?"

Then, suddenly, Rachel roared as she hacked away at Riful with all her might, only for her attacks to harmlessly bounce right off.

"I told you, you cannot cut me with normal attacks." The Abyssal One lectured the Number 5 with boredom in her voice.

Audrey made a dash behind the Awakened One, using her ribbons as a makeshift platform. Then took aim with her sword and lunged forward in an attempt to pierce her wound from the back. Only she came to a stop just inches from landing a hit. She was shocked as if she had come to a sudden realization… or something had _just_ come to her senses.

Riful looked at the Number 3 from over the shoulder and smirked at her. "Backstabbing an open wound. I think the concept is good."

"The...this is…" A bead of sweat dripped down the side of her pretty face.

Rachel let loose another battlecry as she brought her blade down in a vertical strike with all her might, seeming to cleave Riful in two from her head to her navel. "Yes!" she cried in elation "Just look at yourself, now!" But, then… she realized that something didn't seem right.

"I'm sorry," Riful said. "I didn't mean to deceive you…" Then, her body split open in five more places, the pieces spreading out like a paper fan. She was grinning. "But, truth be told, this is just the kind of body I have."

"Wha…" Rachel was staring at Riful completely flabbergasted. The Number 5 was wide eyed with an open mouth and everything!

"W-wait a second... " Audrey muttered shakily. "This…"

"Oh, you noticed?" Riful cooed. "The last ones I fought noticed right away. But then again, two of them excelled at reading youma energy. I suppose that's the difference between claymores. Though the Youma Hunter knew what I was almost immediately." While she talked Riful was reforming herself.

"Oi! Audrey! What's wrong?" Rachel called.

The woman was shaking, a look of terror was on her face. "What we sensed… w-was just an outer layer of youma energy. Below the aura of a normal Awakened Being… she was hiding her _real_ youma energy…"

The three women, even the hidden Luciela all jumped when they heard a newcomer, a young man, shout out in expasteration. "FINALLY! It's about _TIME_ you noticed if you ask me!"

Walking out of the treeline, a hooded figure emerged. His face completely hidden. Behind him the other two claymores Rachel had sent away were behind him.

"Who the hell are you?!" Rachel demanded.

Riful, meanwhile recognised him…

* * *

Back with the other girls, every last one of them felt like death itself loomed over them as the cold, unadulterated rage smothered them from afar. It was hard to breathe and they all fell to their knees at the terrifying sensation.

* * *

Naruto chuckled nervously as Riful turned to address him with a sickly sweet grin that promised an _eternity_ of pain. "Uh… is it too late to apologize…?" He had to get those two down from there… seriously, how could they _not_ comprehend how far up shit creek they put themselves in by using Riful's _body_ as a foothold?!

"Yes… Seven _Years_ to late." Riful chirped as a shower of death came down to impale the blond.

Naruto just grabbed the two women behind him and threw them out of the way, before hopping aside from the ribbons of death. Naruto made two clones… and as he dashed around the pissed off Abyssal One, they quickly swapped places with Audrey and Rachel, surprising the Single Digits when they found themselves back on the ground. The clones that took their place were promptly dispelled when the Abyssal One of the West ran them through.

"I couldn't exactly take you with me!" Naruto yelled to her while he narrowly avoided the many ribbons that came close to hitting him.

"We _had_ a deal! And you went back on it!" Riful repeated, her composure slipping. "The Organization would have avoided you with me in tow, anyway!"

"Seriously what the hell did I miss?!" Luciela called out, finally deciding to emerge from the treeline.

"Hi, Lucy!" Naruto actually took a moment to stop running and wave to her cheerfully, when she emerged from her hiding place. "I was wondering when you would come out." He yelped as Riful tried to impale him once more, narrowly avoiding the half-dozen ribbons she'd sent to do just that.

"...What the hell is happening right now?" Rachel was trying to understand what was unfolding before her very eyes.

"...I have no idea." Audrey answered. Why was Luciela of the South here? Wasn't she supposed to have gone missing when Isley usurped Mucha, seven years ago? Hell, that cloaked man apparently had _some_ history with both Abyssals. And how was he moving so fast without using yoki? Was it just natural speed?

Then, to their amazement, he completely vanished from their field of view and Riful went utterly stiff. Looking back to her, their jaws dropped at the sight of Naruto kissing her, one hand cupping her cheek, the other kneading one of her breasts.

The liplock was long and sensual, sending shivers up their spines and pangs of jealousy through their hearts as Naruto took Riful's breath away. Then, he withdrew and said in the warmest, most charming way she or any other woman present ever heard, "I'm sorry."

Riful just stared dumbly at him for a moment and then…

The sound of a loud smack and thud could be heard for miles as Naruto found himself face-down, hood down, ass up with a large, sizzling lump on his head. "Yeah, I kinda deserved that… ow…" Then he slowly laid flat on the ground. His cloak was sprawled out around him like a quilt.

Riful, meanwhile, huffed grumpily, her arms crossed with a childish pout. "We'll discuss how you'll make it up to me later. I'm busy."

Luciela just walked on over and hefted Naruto up off the ground. The corners of her lips quirked in amusement when she saw the swirls figuratively spinning in his eyes. "So… care to explain what the hell happened? The last news I heard from you was that you had been killed when Isley's army rampaged through Pieta."

Naruto blinked repeatedly. "It's a long story." Then he turned to Riful and said, "And let me guess: you being busy has something to do with combating the threat this 'Priscilla' woman represents isn't it?"

"It does," Riful confirmed, seeing no point in hiding that.

"I thought as much. So Elda _was_ telling the truth." He never doubted the words of the elf woman, but sometimes it helps to have outside sources confirm it too. He looked at Luciela apologetically, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I would have come, but to make a long story short: Isley's second in command managed to get a good hit on me and knocked me out. By the time I woke up everything was in ruins and everyone else was dead."

He wanted to keep everyone else's cover intact. He's fair game since he revealed to that Claymore team nearly three weeks ago that he was the Youma Hunter. Luciela nodded to show she understood. She didn't blame him, when Isley drove her out of Mucha and hurt her to the point it was difficult to maintain her awakened form, the woman was lucky enough to have come across Riful and Dauf, who were coming to aid her.

"It's fine."

Naruto let a sigh of relief at that. Then he turned his attention to Audrey, Rachel and the other two Claymores behind them. He narrowed his eyes a slight tinge before redirecting his gaze to the Abyssal One of the West.

"Riful, can you let them go?" He politely asked of her.

The woman in question glared at him. "I'd ask what's in it for me, but your word has been established as worthless. You didn't uphold your end of our last bargain, after all."

"I don't blame you, to be honest." Naruto admitted. "I'll admit, when I told Flora what I had done, she actually said she would rather have you travelling with us than having a vengeful Abyssal One having a grudge against us." The blond sighed. "It's my own damn fault for putting myself in this position." Thinking long and hard about it, he asked, "Can I make it up to you? Within reason, of course."

"Rumor has it that he's a beast in the sack," Luciela chimed in, much to Naruto's utter shock. "I've overheard many a warrior claiming that he nearly fucked two single-digits to death. I'm rather jealous, actually."

" _Oh my god, she's like Flora,"_ Naruto thought. "I have no idea where you heard that from, but that's completely false… I fucked three single-digits, actually... and not _that_ harshly!" He corrected her before realising that it was spoken out loud. And to his dismay, he saw an intrigued look on Riful's face.

"Three Single-Digits? My, my, I'm impressed!" Luciela praised him with a catty grin. "Together or one at a time?"

"I ain't gonna answer that…" Naruto said, before contradicting himself after seeing the doe-eyed look Luciela was giving him. That look was pure evil… "Okay, fine, sometimes it used to be one at a time, and sometimes together."

"Used to be…?" Luciela giggled. "You've found yourself some new companions, then?"

"No. I came alone. Everyone else is dead." He lied.

"Oh, sweetie, you don't have to hide anything from me," she whispered.

"The Organization thinks the others are still dead." Naruto whispered back into her ear. "Right now, I'm probably the only one they're aware of that's still alive and I want to keep it that way around potential eavesdroppers." He pointedly jerked his head towards Audrey's team who were still watching them warily.

Luciela smiled and nodded in understanding. "Oh, don't worry," she cooed, hugging him tight and burying his face in her bosom. "I'm here, now and I'll make you feel so much better~!" She then turned to Riful and said, "I'll make sure he keeps his promises, this time. Let's humour him for now and let them go. There's a few other high-level warriors nearby, after all."

"...Yes...yes, I suppose there is." Riful let out a sigh and shooed Audrey's team away. "Go on. Shoo. Consider yourselves lucky that you are walking free this day."

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Audrey grabbed Rachel's arm and started tugging her away. There was no way in hell she was sticking around! The other two women followed after the Single-Digit warriors like a bat outta hell.

"...By the way Riful, you look pretty sexy like that. Nice set of tits too." He complimented the Abyssal One of the West.

If she could blush woman in question would have at that, not at all used to such compliments. Even Dauf was never so forward!

And why was he complimenting her? It's kinda his thing. It's fucking someone other than Flora that's a no go for him… though he _may_ have to make an exception this time. Naruto let out a sigh of relief, though.

That was one problem down. Now he needed to deal with another: two Abyssal Ones. One of whom is his friend. But there was another reason why he came to them.

They may have information he and the other girls need.


	24. Chapter 23

Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked to Luciela. "Lucy, I'm out of the loop. A lot's probably happened in the past seven years so, I will need some help in regards of catching up. So do the other women."

"Of course." Luciela gave her friend a smile. "What do you want to know?"

"Seven years ago, a large group of Awakened Beings should have came out of the North following our defeat at Pieta. What happened to them?"

"I can answer that." Riful said, manipulating her ribbons as to lower herself towards the ground. "The Abyssal One of the North, Isley split them in half. He sent 6 to me and the remaining 7 to the Organization. The fools had no idea they were set up to die as cannon fodder. The remaining Awakened Beings were annihilated with not a single one surviving."

That took Naruto by surprise. "What? I can understand _you_ being able to kill off your group of Awakened Beings, but how did the Organization take out of the ones that were sent to them? With 24 warriors being sent to the North to die, and the others being out on the field, they would have been short on manpower."

"Since you're not part of the Organization, it's understandable you didn't know about it." Luciela told him.

"Yes. The Organization has no oversights." Riful said with a solemn nod. "Unnoticed by us, they have created a claymore that is strong enough to oppose us. You could call her a new Abyssal One that is under the thumb of the Organization. When the 7 Awakened Beings reached Sutare and marched on the Organization's headquarters they had unknowingly walked to their own deaths."

"And while Riful and the Organization were preoccupied, Isley himself came down to Mucha to take it from me. He won, and almost killed me. Fortunately, due to the low number of Awakened Beings that were sent her way, Riful was able to deal with them fairly quickly and was able to find me in time to help." Luciela's expression turned bitter as she added, "Isley was near death when he defeated me the first time. The two of us working together would have killed him, too, were it not for his bitch appearing by his side when we confronted him."

"Priscilla." Naruto stated knowingly; he rubbed Luciela's back comfortingly. "I was told about her by Elda the Huntress, an Awakened One who was Number 5."

"From Teresa's generation," Riful chimed in knowingly. "I've heard of her in passing. Was she among Isley's little entourage?"

"No, actually. She was actually hunting me down to see if I was a threat to the Awakened Ones." The blond said in clarification, "Not long after Pieta she found me. We fought… she transformed… and I fucked her snake ass into a gurgling mess."

"I take it she's the one hanging out a few-dozen yards northeast of here," Luciela mused. "That does seem to be the direction you came from."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. That's where she is… her and the others. Despite what's been said, there have been survivors from the Northern Campaign. They had a plan to play dead since there was no way they could win."

"So, you're willing to have this 'snake' bitch tag along but not me," Riful muttered bitterly.

"To be fair, it's been seven years since I first met you. My situation's changed since then," he replied defensively. "And she just kinda hung around from time to time. She's more or less doing the same now. And I'm used to her... _your_ brand of diet, now. And as for Lucy here, when I first met her I never even knew she was an Abyssal One. She didn't come with me, because she declined my offer."

"So, I take it you're willing to have us tag along~?" Luciela cooed.

"Seven years have passed and I'm more comfortable being around people such as yourselves so yeah, I'm willing now." Naruto chuckled, rubbing his hand up and down along Luciela's back some more. Then he looked at Riful and asked, "What about that guy who was with you the first time we met? What was his name… Daff? Doof?"

"His name's Dauf, Naruto." Luciela corrected, doing her best to hide her amusement upon hearing Doof. That actually summed up the man pretty well. He was a bit of an idiot in her opinion.

The blond in question snapped his fingers, "That's the name! Thanks, Lucy." He said, smiling thankfully at the auburn-haired woman, before turning to look at the still transformed Riful, "What about him? Is he anywhere around?"

"He's guarding my castle, a kilometre west of here," Riful replied. "I told him to not leave it unless it's to feed himself."

"I see. So he's the brawns and you're the brains. Even though you can be both. And he does everything you say too." Naruto nodded to himself in a sage-like manner.

"He's the only friend I didn't have to break," Riful replied fondly. Luciela cleared her throat and gave Riful a pointed look. "...and you too, I guess." She added half-heartedly. To be fair, their alliance was forged out of necessity, though they got along well enough.

"Love you, too, asshole," Luciela replied teasingly.

"Well… if there's a couple of good things that out of me breaking my promise to have you as my slave: you saved Luciela _and_ you're not my slave."

Luciela blinked and gave the blond an incredulous look, "Riful offered to be your slave and you went _back_ on it?! What the hell were you thinking?! You could've had a strong ally in her!"

"I was thinking more along the lines of keeping my girlfriend safe. And I was never all that good in thinking ahead anyway. Believe me, there isn't a single damn thing I regret doing more in my life," Naruto replied with a heavy sigh. All those lives could've been saved, were it not for that decision.

Then Naruto came to a sudden realization and he looked back towards the hill he knew the others were at. "I've been away from the others for long enough. I'm pretty sure they're worried sick about me - Flora especially."

After going on a goddamn rampage when she thought he was dead, Naruto was more worried that Flora would do something drastic. The woman had almost awakened several times during the Battle of Pieta and was more possessive of him now after all.

"Oh? Are you introducing us to your friends?" Luciela asked. She was rather curious about them if she was perfectly honest.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I pretty much told them to stay behind while I went on ahead and tried to save the newest generation from you… no offence intended."

"...whatever." Riful huffed, raising her nose haughtily.

"Okay. I'll take whatever I can get." Naruto sighed. "You're gonna have to transform back into your human form, Riful. They're gonna be jumpy."

"They'll be jumpy regardless," she pointed out with an uncaring shrug but complied nonetheless. She shrunk down and her entire body morphed into that of a 14-year-old girl, who… just happened to be buck-ass naked.

"True enough." Chuckled the blond. "They were literally shaking in their boots when they sensed the two of you." Then Naruto gave Riful a look over. "Even though I saw you like that once, I always thought you looked kinda cute."

"Flattery alone will only get you so far," Riful cooed. Though she appreciated the compliment, it was far from enough to make up for that insult, seven years ago.

"True," Then Naruto closed his eyes and went completely still. Luciela watched with intrigue when she saw the orange pigmentation form around his eyes. That was certainly new. "...The claymores that you were toying with are still running away and are now about half a mile from here. The other 8 that are in the general vicinity are keeping well away and are avoiding this place entirely. As long as the two of you keep your yoki aura suppressed as it is now, you will be able to keep out of their notice."

There was another presence in the West. It was hard to make out who it was, but Naruto was certain this presence belonged to a very powerful Awakened Being. The person was very far away from here though, so there was no point in going out of his way to investigate.

"How do you know that?" Colour her intrigued Luciela knew he was able to accurately pinpoint where people with yoki are. Be they Awakened Ones, Claymores or Youma. But what from she observed, it had a limited range.

"I guess letting you know can't hurt," Said Naruto, as he opened his eyes, revealing his now transformed toad eyes to the Abyssal Ones. "I can go into an empowered state that gives me a boost in pretty much everything, from strength to durability, to my reflexes. It even makes my attacks more powerful."

"So that empowered state was what you used to beat me?" The young looking Abyssal One was looking up at him with a small frown.

She was surprised when he shook his head. "No, actually. I defeated you in my base form. Even when you transformed, you were still underestimating me. Had you not, then I would have been forced to fight you like this." Naruto told her while gesturing to his eyes before they turned back to normal.

"I see…" While she didn't like being reminded of that, Riful had to admit she was impressed that this human had beat her in his base state. He was that powerful without resorting to power-ups… and she could tell he was holding back against her back then too.

"Alright!" Naruto chirped, "Let's go see the others!"

* * *

Meanwhile...

"Wh-what the hell was that?" Juliana whimpered, just now recovering from the wave of malice they all felt.

"LET ME GO!" Flora shrieked in anger and dismay, no less than _ten_ women holding her down. She had to get there and save her boyfriend! She _had_ to!

"You'll get yourself and all of us killed if we do!" Clare shouted,

"...The Single Digits are safe and with the other two. And Luciela came out of hiding. She's… bewildered?" Tabitha didn't know what to make of that and it showed on her face. "She's also feeling happy… very much so."

"And Riful?" Miria asked, being one of the few women who wasn't trying to hold Flora down.

"Shocked, embarrassed, angry…" Cynthia answered. "She seems to have calmed down, but something has her horribly flustered. I could sense her attack someone shortly after. Most likely Naruto. Luciela's actually amused by whatever is going on but isn't engaging him in a fight."

"Luciela's moving now. And reaching down to pick someone up. Since neither of the other claymores is in danger, it's most likely Naruto." Tabitha added. "Whatever he did to fluster Riful must've been enough to get him hit."

"Knowing him, he groped her," Natalie giggled.

There was a long pause, before Tabitha let out a sigh of relief. "...The hunting party is leaving now and neither Luciela or Riful are pursuing them." She announced.

"Um… That's good. Right?" Yuma asked them from her place on top of Flora.

"That... might depend on what Naruto offered them in exchange," Cynthia replied with a nervous chuckle. "They're coming this way."

Miria's head snapped to her. "What?!"

"It might not be bad," Tabitha said prompting Miria to snap her head over to the former Number 31. "Riful went into her normal form just before she started moving. They'll be here in a matter of minutes."

"...Can you all _PLEASE_ get off me now?! I'm calm now!" Flora yelled out from under the mass of bodies on top of her.

"As soon as you promise to _not_ try and run away!" Clare barked, with Jean nodding frantically in agreement.

Flora groaned in exasperation. Though their reactions are understandable. "Fine! I promise! _Please_ , get off of me. I need to breathe!"

Feeling satisfied, Miria nodded and the rest of the girls hopped off. Flora refilled her lungs with the oxygen they so desperately needed and exhaled. Then she slowly got up and acted like nothing happened, much to everyone's bemusement.

"How far are they now?" Miria asked Cynthia or Tabitha.

The women in question closed her eyes. "...Riful and Luciela are actively suppressing their yoki, but at the pace they're going, I'd say they will arrive in a few minutes, more or less." Tabitha answered.

"What should we do, Big Sis? Helen asked.

"They're with Naruto," Miria replied. "It's safe to assume that they don't mean to harm us, so be on your best behaviour."

"I think no one here is dumb enough to pick a fight with two Creatures of the Abyss." Elda pointed out to Miria with a roll of her eyes, "But it's good advice nonetheless. One thing that's gotten me curious is _why_ Luciela is over here instead of Mucha. Maybe if they're willing they can provide answers."

"Or maybe Naruto's already asked," Wendy said with a nervous frown. "He did say that he was friends with Luciela."

"That too is also a possibility," Elda admitted. "Either way, we may have ourselves some very powerful allies if all goes well. Anyone here particularly good at negotiations?" No one answered though a few looked to Miria pointedly. Clare, Helen and Deneve were some of the few. "Well… if you're good at convincing people then this might just work… as long as you don't intentionally antagonise them."

"They're-" Tabitha started.

Just as she said that three blurs appeared from the treeline as they leapt up towards the sky, going above the 18 women and over them. They landed on the ground behind them, revealing Luciela, Naruto, and the still-naked Riful.

"-here." Tabitha finished lamely.

"My, my," Riful chirped as she looked back at the women. "I didn't expect there to be so many survivors." And she let out a pleased gasp when she saw three familiar faces amongst them. "Oh! I remember the three of you from Seven Years ago! It's so nice to see you again."

"I don't think they share the same sentiment." Luciela drawled out. "Knowing how you 'make friends', I think you scarred them for life. The one with no eyebrows is shaking like a leaf, the poor thing."

While the two Abyssals were talking, Naruto walked on over to Miria. "Miria, I learned a couple of things I think you need to hear."

Hiding her fear as best she can, the woman peered over his shoulder to look at the Abyssal Ones before looking back at him. "So you claim. What have you learned?"

"For one, the Organization has a claymore capable of fighting the Abyssal Ones under their command. So there are four Abyssal Ones now." That got Miria's undivided attention. There was _another_ Abyssal One!? "Half of the Awakened Beings were sent to the West and to the East. The ones that was sent East were wiped out by her and her alone."

"Any word on this warrior's identity?" Miria had a good guess as to who she was, but no actual proof.

"If I had to guess, I would say it's their Number 1." Luciela interjected. "I was part of a failed experiment of theirs to create a controllable Awakened Being. Hysteria came after me, then it was Teresa. And now the current Number 1 is from your generation and she is still this one's."

"Alicia the Black," Miria said in a thoughtful tone. "I've heard of the experiment you were a part of. It ended in failure with you Awakening. Allegedly, she and her twin sister, Beth the Black were snatched up as infants and were heavily conditioned to lack emotions, though I was unable to find any records as to why. This experiment seems to be the most likely reason."

"They wouldn't let a 'set back' like mine stop them." Luciela pointed out with a scoff. "Even if I almost destroyed them upon Awakening. I heard of the infants being taken by the Organization sometime after I Awakened. Rafaela and I were normal sisters. These ones are twins from what I heard."

"And if I'm guessing right," Naruto added. "when the Organization heard there was an army being gathered in the North, I bet they sent all 24 of you up there to buy time to get this 'Alicia the Black' combat ready… and likely saw this as an opportunity to get rid of their more troublesome subordinates. I won't be surprised if they started replacing you the second you all were sent North out of your regions."

"Tch… That sounds like something they would do," Luciela said. "I heard a rumour that the Number One after me, Hysteria the Elegant, had seen something she wasn't meant to. The Organization then fabricated her impending Awakening, before they sicked all 46 warriors on her at Rockwell Hill. That nearly crippled the Organization as they had too few warriors left by the time she was slain. Teresa of the Faint Smile, Rosemary the Red and Quicksword Irene was there. They were some of the few survivors. If what the rumours of that day are true, then Hysteria was confused and shocked that her comrades had drawn their swords on her without hesitation and was actively trying to stop them at first. Only they didn't so she was forced to kill them to save her own life."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Riful chimed in. "They tried to off me for being too rebellious, causing me to lose control and awaken… So I ate them… all of them. I haven't the foggiest clue where their replacements came from, but I never did bother to check in all fairness."

"...It seems to me they have the tendency to kill off problem warriors." Naruto said with a deceptively calm look on his face. This Organization is reminding him of Root, of Danzo to be more specific. That man may have had the best intentions for Konoha in mind, but the way he did things had made Konoha more enemies than friends. Hell one of his unsanctioned missions he had given to Root had came to bite Konoha in the ass a few decades later! The result? Konoha being turned into a damn crater!

"So, about making it up to me…" Riful began as she leered at Naruto. "How exactly do you intend to do that?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer before his eye twitched. Suddenly, he snapped his eyes to Flora and said, "Don't you dare!"

Flora had an innocent look on her face. "Dare what?"

"You _know_ what, Flora! I know you…"

"Oh, fine," she giggled teasingly. Truth be told, she was actually still debating on whether or not she should, given that it might result in the Abyssal One snatching him up for herself. Sure, she had the oaf, but still...

"She's already naked, you can fuck her." Luciela impishly said with a cat-like grin, causing Naruto to look at the auburn-haired woman, gaping like a fish in utter shock. As for Flora…

"Oh~! I think I like you!" The woman was grinning impishly. Then Flora looked at Naruto and said, "I like her suggestion." She wasn't outright stating it, but it was what she was thinking of saying in the first place. Teasing him was so much fun after all!

Naruto twitched violently at that. "You _will_ be making it up to me, missie!"

Oh, she was perfectly willing to do that~! "Do you want me to get down on my knees and suck your dick right here, right now, as part of it~?"

"That's… I… Ugh…" He buried his face into his hands with dismay. How the hell did he end up with such a lewd woman?! Oh yeah, she wanted to be his girlfriend and he said yes.

Pervy Sage must be laughing his ass off in the Pure Lands.

"So, is that a yes?" Riful asked, legitimately curious.

"Oh, don't mind him." Flora said to Riful with a friendly smile, while she went over to put an arm around her boyfriend's shoulder. "I usually have to goad him into fucking other women. He's very loyal to me you see."

"So the rumours of him bedding you were true?" Luciela asked, acting all surprised. "I've been sending hints of wanting to lay with him soon after we first met, and he never noticed!" Sure it was rather frustrating, but instead of getting annoyed the woman found it cute.

Flora shrugged. "He's rather clueless like that. He's perfectly willing to flirt with other warriors. But laying with them is something he considers taboo… unless I'm there to goad him on. I had to do it with Lucia and Miria here you see. And he's still rather shy about bedding other women too, even though there are quite a few among our group that wants to lay with him."

As he felt Flora slip behind him and wrap her around around his waist, Naruto felt his eye twitching again. What's more Flora parted his cloak in the front and made sure to press her breasts up against his back in order to get a reaction out of him.

Riful _actually_ licked her lips as she stared dead ahead at his groin. Naruto never saw it. He was looking straight ahead of him at that point and was ignoring everything else that was going on. But, the Abyssal One of the West was going to enjoy finding out the fun way if he really lived up to that reputation of his.

* * *

Sometime later, the 17 women, plus three Awakened Beings, and Naruto were all sitting comfortably around a campsite; with many sitting on rocks. Well, in Naruto's case he was standing.

"Okay… so we have two Abyssal Ones in front of us and neither of them is trying to rip our faces off. That's progress!" Cynthia commented, trying to sound optimistic, despite how terrified she was to be in their presence.

"Naruto's not moving, though. He just standing there…" Natalie stated, looking at Naruto who to everyone's bewilderment was looking off into the distance. He never moved. At all. And it was very creepy.

"I think me, and that one broke him through teasing," Luciela said as she gestured to herself and Flora with an amused grin. "So… whoops?"

"It happens more often than you think, actually." Flora giggled.

"I'm still waiting on that answer, but it looks like I won't be getting it from him anytime soon." The still-naked Riful sighed, looking utterly bored. Then she looked at Miria since everyone seemed to refer to her, and that told Riful this one _was_ their leader. "So, it looks like I'm stuck with doing the negotiations with you."

Miria cleared her throat nervously. "Uh… right." Taking a deep calming breath, she approached the Abyssal One of the West and gave her a respectful bow. "So… where do we begin?"

"I believe I can help there," Luciela said before Riful could say anything that could ruin their chances. "We are currently looking for allies to Awaken, strong claymores to be more specific. However, since all of you are friends with Naruto the _both_ of us are willing to ally ourselves with you without trying to awaken you."

Riful snapped her head to Luciela with a look of outrage. "Excuse me?!"

The auburn-haired woman let out a sigh and decided to be straight with the second oldest Abyssal One. "Look, Riful, so far your method of doing things has not gotten any results. We're running out of time and sooner or later, either Priscilla or the Organization's new pet _will_ come for us. You have 'Doof'..." She tried to keep her amusement from showing on her face, "...and that's it. These ladies are not aligned with the Organization anymore and they have no allies anywhere."

Riful frowned, conceding that Luciela had a point. "I'll need to give it some thought," she said. "Until then, I need to know what the lot of you are planning to do. If your cause aligns with mine, that'll do wonders for us both."

Miria frowned in contemplation. "Each and every one of us is intending to defeat the enemies' of our friends and comrades. Naturally, this will pit us against the Organization since in their eyes we are seen as deserters. And Clare has things she wants to do. And then there's Priscilla… and if Elda's words are true, then she has power beyond the Abyssal Ones."

"There's also the matter of the Organization itself…" Naruto added after he finally turned around. "While you already mentioned them, I have a gut feeling _you_ , in particular, have a bone to pick with them Miria."

At that Miria closed her eyes and nodded. "I do. I… intend on destroying them." She admitted, and that got everyone to look at her as if she had lost her mind. Though, Elda, Riful and Luciela were all intrigued. "It's a long story that I've needed to tell everyone, but I have reason to believe that they are the ones who created the youma in the first place."

"Wouldn't surprise me..." Riful shrugged. "I always did find it odd that they were disproportionately abundant in the regions closer to the East in my time… They're less-so, now, but not by much; even to this day, I haven't even seen a single one on the coastline of my territory - despite its relatively-dense population, one might add. You'd think most of them would be farther away from the Organization's headquarters if that wasn't the case, no?"

"I always found it odd that more Awakened Ones keep showing up out of nowhere," Luciela added with a perplexed frown. "I can understand if it were warriors that Awakened, since it happens from time to time. But the amount of Awakenings in every generation is minor. Even after the so called 'Battle of the North' more Awakened Ones have come out of the woodworks. I've heard that these Awakened Beings are all male... which is odd."

"Yet another oddity," Riful agreed with a nod. "The so-called 'Lost Generation' was actually the smallest - having only thirty members in total, if memory serves, and half of them were killed in action while the others Awakened. For so many male Awakened to exist - to this day, no less - makes no sense."

Naruto scowled and rejoined them. "Y'know, the more I hear about this nameless Organization, the more I'm willing to bet they're the cause of it." He said as he sat between the two Abyssal Ones. "They have a tendency to kill off trouble warriors. They're mysterious. And over price towns and cities for their services, who are attacked by a force of youma if they refuse shortly after. And if Flora's Handler is any indication they barely see you as human beings, and more like tools to be used and discarded once your usefulness has dried up. And if they're capable of creating you, then it's a safe bet to say they're also capable of making Awakened Beings too. And thanks to those Awakened Beings Isley sent to attack the Organization after the battle seven years ago, who knows what they've been doing with their corpses."

"A pretty apt description," Riful agreed with a nod. "And thanks to that little fiasco Isley pulled in the North, The Organization has changed its mindset on Awakened Ones. Warriors are actively sent out to hunt us down even if they get the slightest hint on our location. Then their corpses are recovered."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. I can see why you're looking for allies." Naruto sighed. "I would be too." He looked at Miria, "Knowing you, I'd bet you've been looking for proof behind the scenes. Gathering evidence and the like. Have you found anything?"

He was pleasantly surprised when Miria nodded. "I found a couple of promising sources. One, I found a settlement in the East fairly close to the Organization's headquarters that had no idea what Youma's were or what even Claymore's are. When they saw me for the first time they were shocked. Another thing I found was something we warriors carry: our claymores. Our swords are a little too sturdy for fighting against youma, don't you think?"

"...Now that you mention it, that is odd." Zelda said with a slow nod. "A standard greatsword or even longsword can do the job just as well. Ours are overkill now that I think about it - both in durability and cutting power."

"Rather odd when you consider that the Lost Generation were equipped with the very same weapons," Riful chimed in. "Sure, you can argue now that they're needed to take out Awakened Beings, but they didn't have to worry about that at the time since they didn't exist. Rather curious that these swords were coincidentally able to cut them, no?

Miria nodded, secretly happy that they were following her train of thought. "Yes. Our swords are very durable and in all my years as a warrior, not once has my sword gotten damaged or chipped in battle even against Awakened Beings - not even the edge has been damaged in the slightest. Even when they're used as grave markers for the fallen warriors, they never lost their cutting power. I've searched this land high and low for the material that was used and neither of the ones I've found were as strong as the one that made our swords. And like you said, The Organization has been making them since the Lost Generation. It's like they were _made_ for fighting Awakened Beings."

"Which begs the question of what their endgame is…" Luciela added. "Clearly, they'd anticipated that Awakenings would happen and accounted for that, but I see no way that they could have… not to this extent from the start, at least."

Naruto rubbed his forehead. "This Organization is getting more and more like the Akatsuki the longer I hear about them…" They and The Organization had shared some similarities, but they were fundamentally different too.

"The...Akatsuki?" Luciela asked, with many women now looking at him with intrigue.

"An… Organization where I'm from. They have _some_ similarities to _your_ Organization. Only mine was hellbent on taking over the world. Their methods were also different, but the behaviour was identically heinous. Trust me when I say you know _nothing_ when it comes to power. Each member of the Akatsuki are Kage level and quite a few of them are strong enough to make even the Abyssal Ones look like kittens in comparison."

While she had no idea what 'Kage Level' meant, Riful nonetheless scoffed. "Yeah right."

"Can you, Luciela or Isley make a moon… as in literally create a second moon? Can any of you turn an entire city into a crater in less than a second? Can any of you revive the dead? Can any of you rip out people's souls? Can any of you control gravity? Can any of you absorb almost _any_ technique thrown your way? And can any of you, via the control of gravity, send any attack away from you?" Naruto flatly asked her question after question after question without giving the girl a chance to answer. It was only after he finished that Naruto was giving Riful an expectant look.

"Uhhh…" That was all Naruto needed to hear.

"Wait, there really was someone _with_ that kind of power?" Miria was looking at Naruto with a gaping mouth; what was even more unbelievable to her was that she could not sense any deceit from him.

Naruto nodded and he crossed his arms. "Yeah. There was. That guy was also the Leader of the Akatsuki. He was also my sibling student, as he learned under Jiraiya the same as me. He won't be too much of a threat now, though. He died bringing everyone he killed back to life after I talked to him."

"...He died… by reviving the people he's killed, after you talked to him?" That sounded a little too unbelievable. Even for Miria. The only person who believed him entirely was Flora because she _saw_ it.

Naruto nodded in the affirmative. "A lot of friends I made in the past had started out by me kicking their asses and then talking to them. You would be surprised what a little talking can do."

Then Elda let out an impish giggle. "That's what you did to me! Except, instead of talking after I was defeated, you fucked me silly~!"

"Yes. Yes, I did. I fucked you until you were a gurgling mess." Naruto said with amused exasperation. Truth be told, if a lotta the guys he took down back in the day were hot chicks, he'd likely have a shit ton of kids running about… especially given his age at the time. Then he blinked and scratched the back of his head in confusion, "What were we talking about again? I forgot."

"Organization. Us wanting to ally with you. Riful wanting to know where you stand." Luciela reminded.

Naruto nodded slowly. "Ah, right. Okay then, so to make a long story short: Miria wants to take down the Organization. And everyone else here wants to do the same I'd bet. Clare wanted to head here for some reason… most likely to find that Raki kid she was hanging around with. You want to have allies with the threat of Priscilla looming over your heads, and we have no one other than ourselves. If we throw in our lot with each other, we'd have a much better standing and you both would have a better chance of survival."

"Very true," Luciela agreed. "I for one am perfectly willing to ally myself with you and your… _harem_."

"I don't have a harem!" Naruto exasperatingly said as soon as he heard the last word being uttered.

"You have multiple lovers," Flora pointed out with a giggle. "Myself, Natalie, Lucia, Elda, and Miria. There's quite a few others amongst us that want to bed you as well. Eva, despite her subtly is one of them. Juliana is obviously trying to bed you. So does Jean as she discussed it with me on that day we came to her, Galatea and Clare's rescue. And I am sure that others are interested as well, even if they're good at hiding it. That right there is a harem by definition."

"Oh? So that means you know how big he is!" Luciela grinned much like a cat as she leaned forward eagerly. "I _must_ know! How big is he?"

"He's big enough to make you feel absolutely full." Flora's smile turned to a full blown grin when she heard Naruto groan in dismay. "And he will make you crave for more too~!"

"I'm _really_ tempted to go over there and give you _such_ a spanking!" Naruto muttered under his breath. Flora really _was_ trying to pimp him out to other warriors...and female Awakened Ones too, it looks like!

Unfortunately for Naruto, his girlfriend heard what he said.

"Ooh~!" Flora cooed, liking the sound of that. "That sounds fun~!" Before Naruto knew what happened Flora outright _launched_ herself at him, taking both Abyssals by surprise and causing Naruto to let out a startled squawk when he was knocked down on his back with Flora on top of him.

Despite her wearing a cloak, one cannot forget that Flora was wearing a sleeveless leotard underneath it. The only armour she wore was a pair of gauntlets and greaves… and apart from the leather strap that is used to carry her claymore on her back, that was it. So Naruto was able to feel her crotch rubbing up against his own very well. The woman was practically dry humping him!

"Go ahead! Spank me! You know you want to!" Flora cooed down at him with mischievous intent. Riful, in all her nudity, just looked back over her shoulder after getting over her initial surprise and stared at the couple with a single raised brow. Luciela was more amused than anything else.

Naruto… just swapped himself with a log and reappeared a little ways away from the group. He wasn't dealing with this right now. Not in front of two very powerful, and _very_ dangerous individuals.

They needed to hash out some kind of deal.

"Oh, Nar~uto~!" Flora called out.

...Right after he deals with a playful Flora.

"I find this far more amusing than I should," Luciela commented with a hearty chuckle. She watched as Naruto started running away from Flora who started chasing after him.

"Many of us often do," Miria admitted. "It's also good for observation. Naruto often shows off more of his techniques when this happens. He… has a lot."

"Oh? How many?" Riful asked.

"He hasn't shown much, but you clearly saw one of them." Miria replied. Then she added, "He can swap places with other objects, and people. He can also make solid copies of himself that can do everything he can do. He can transform into other objects and people. He is capable of manipulating the very elements themselves. He can enter an empowered state that makes him utter hell on the battlefield."

"I have yet to beat him in that state," Zelda chimed in. "Not for lack of trying, either. It's very impressive."

"In the Battle of Pieta, he made these spheres of energy." Jean added. "He has many different versions of them, but the ones I saw were strong and destructive enough to bypass your defenses and kill you in a single hit. The other one I saw on that day can make a turbulent wave-like vortex of destruction that utterly crippled an Awakened One. He was alive but barely. The destruction tore apart his armour and left him in a state of near death and unable to move despite being conscious."

"Ah yes, I believe he called that Awakened One 'a retarded looking lizard'." Helen snarked.

"He can also use another attack he calls' 'Tandem Paper bombs'." Wendy said. "It's basically a technique that uses water and these pieces of paper that can make explosions. It's powerful enough to kill an Awakened One with one use."

"A sphere made of energy?" Riful mused aloud, "I remember him using one against me… Though it was a big one. If I remember right, he said it has enough power to level an entire mountain if it were allowed to explode."

"'Massive Rasengan' is what it's called, though neither of us has seen it for ourselves. And those are just some of the ones we know. He has plenty more up his sleeve but has not shown them. I am pretty sure he can devise more devastating techniques if he wants. Those solid copies he can make of himself can learn to do new things and can last indefinitely provided they are out of combat. In theory, Naruto can learn anything in a matter of days rather than years. That includes making new techniques." Miria concluded.

"He can be in two places at once for an undetermined amount of time and from what I gathered is very resourceful," Luciela mused aloud. "A valuable ally, indeed."

"So it would seem," Riful admitted. "I still have an axe to grind, mind you, but if we kiss and make up, he'll prove quite the asset in bringing down Priscilla."

Clare visibly perked up at that. There were two things she cared about in this world, after all: finding Raki and murdering the fuck out of the bitch who killed Teresa.

"Ack!"

"Gotcha~!"

And from the sound of things, Flora had finally captured Naruto...


	25. Chapter 24

Within the Greenlands of Toulouse, Number 47, Clarice was running for dear life. Panting frantically as she ran past tree after tree. She let out a startled gasp when she heard the sound of something approaching. _Fast_. She leapt, and the ground she was standing on exploded in rubble, dust, and dirt.

"KYAAA!"

Clarice let out a scream as the explosion sent her to the ground with a _thud!_ head first. She coughed, and slowly got up on her hands and knees. Several yards behind her was a humanoid Awakened One. It was grotesque in appearance; it stood around 15ft, had two arms with vicious looking clawed hands, the projectile was in fact, two sharp tentacles coming from its wrists. It stood on two bent legs and had a single head, but three faces. One being on its head and the other two on its shoulders. All three faces shared a maw full of jagged sharp teeth. The head had two wide eyes as if there were no eyelids and it was clicking, like a bug. It was covered in a plate endoskeleton from head to toe. It honestly looked like a bug that was stepped on one too many times.

With a groan, Clarice pressed her palm against the side of her forehead and looked at it. She bared her teeth when her head started to faintly throb in discomfort and the feel of blood dripping down her face. "Ug…" Then, she looked behind her and turned around on her back and froze out of sheer fear.

"Wh-WHY?!" The dismayed brunette cried out, "Why can't I sense youma energy _now_ of all times?! This is…" Clarice was going to finish that sentence off with 'bad', but she never got to. As the Awakened One poised its arm to kill her, it suddenly found said arm lopped off and the limb landed a ways behind it.

It clicked in alarm and let out a furious roar as it turned and all four of its clawed fingers extended and struck an empty ground. Only, it wasn't. Miata had leapt up to avoid its attack and the Awakened One let out a surprised growl. Then, the young girl looked at it from the corner of her eye, her hair whipping around her.

The Awakened One felt sharp pains all over its torso. Then purple blood began to spurt out before the entire upper half of its torso exploded in a fantastic display of gore and blood, as Miata seemingly dashed through it. The girl landed on her knees as the corpse fell on its back behind her, blood gushing from its fatal wounds.

Clarice put her hand to her chest and let out a relieved sigh. Only to gasp in surprise and look at the much younger girl, when she heard Miata still attacking it. And sure enough, she was. The girl was stabbing the corpse repeatedly in a frenzy.

Clarice quickly got up and approached the girl. "Mi...Miata! That's enough! It's dead already!" She reached out and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. That was the trigger into calming the girl down as she immediately dropped what she was doing, turned around and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist while she buried her face against the woman's torso. Hugging her.

"Mama… Mama… Mama…"

Clarice let out another sigh and put her hand on the girl's head. "It's alright. I'm there for you so… let's complete our mission for now." Her expression turned grim, and slightly fearful, as she looked ahead of her and added, "The two of us… will take Galatea's head."

* * *

Sometime ago…

In Sutare, Miata and Clarice were standing amongst the council hall within facing the Elder and the other Handlers once more. Elder Rimuto was intrigued when he saw Miata and Clarice holding hands.

"Oh? You have won her over quite well. What did you do?" Rimuto asked, intrigued despite his neutral if not standoffish expression.

Clarice mildy blushed at the question, "Ah… Eh… No...Nothing in particular." She lied, and Miata turned and pressed herself against the woman humming softly to herself.

"Well, whatever. In that case, I will give you two a new mission." Rimuto said. Then he leaned forward on his chair and laced his fingers together in front of his chin. "I order you to execute Galatea. The former Number 3 who deserted from the Organization 7 years ago."

Clarice's mouth opened slightly in shock. She was staring at Elder Rimuto, hoping that he was joking… alas, he wasn't she quickly realized. He was very serious.

"EH?! The… the former Number 3?! There's no way I can do that…" She exclaimed. Poor Clarice was doing her best to keep herself calm and aloof but failed miserably at it. This was far beyond her capabilities!

"I didn't ask if you could do it. You just half to accomplish the mission I gave to you and Miata together." Rimuto said dispassionately. He continued, saying, "Miata always had the power to aim for Number 1. But up to now, she was rather useless due to her mental instability. Now that Miata's mind seems to have calmed down I expect her to handle jobs more suitable for her power."

* * *

Sometime later, Clarice, Miata and Handler Rado were walking outside and walking past several stone huts and buildings. Unlike the ones Clarice walked by to meet Miata, these ones were in a state of disrepair.

Both Numbers 47 and Number 4 were quiet as they listened to Handler Rado give them their mission debriefing. "Using several pieces of information and some clues, we have narrowed down her location. All that's left to do is to wander around in the area and look for her. But the target excels at youma energy perception in a wide range. Therefore, this time you will operate while using energy suppressants."

That had taken Clarice by surprise. "Eh? But then, we'll be unable to read youma energy too! How…"

"Don't worry." He told the brunette without looking at her. Rado knew full well what she was going to ask. "That is where Miata's unique ability will be of use."

The brunette frowned curiously and looked down at Miata for a moment, before looking back at Rado's back. "Unique ability?"

Here Handler Rado stopped and turned to face the two claymores directly. "Actually rather than being unique, it's a power fundamental to humans. No, to all creatures really. Hearing. Vision. Smell. Taste. Touch. Miata excels in these five senses. And can thus fight without relying on the 'filter' of thought, instead, she will be acting merely on instincts. And the sense that results from these highly sharpened five senses… a sixth sense to speak… is the special power that Miata has obtained."

"A sixth sense…" She trailed off and looked down at Miata from halfway over the shoulder. The girl was still humming to herself.

The brunette looked back to Handler Rado when he started talking again. "To illustrate it with words, one could simply call it 'quick perception'. But it is the fact that the number of actual results up until now makes these vague words sound inappropriate. In other words, your task is to give Miata energy suppressants in regular intervals. And constantly remind her to be conscious of Galatea's presence."

Clarice gulped nervously, but she nodded nonetheless.

His last words to them before they headed out on their mission was, "Spending the rest of their days miserably in solitude is the fate that awaits deserters. Understand that execution is actually salvation for them."

* * *

Within the mountains of Toulouse, Clarice and Miata were resting. Both of them had their plate armours removed. Currently, Clarice was in the middle of breastfeeding Miata after an undetermined amount of travel. It felt a little weird for Clarice, despite doing it rather often.

Unfortunately for Clarice…

"Ouch!" The brunette jolted with a wince when she felt a sharp pain on her nipple. Miata kept biting her accidentally, "Please Miata! Keep your teeth back!" Not wanting to upset her Mama, Miata did as asked and sucked against Clarice's nub without using her teeth. The brunette let out a sigh. This wasn't getting any easier…

* * *

Sometime later, Clarice was holding her hand out to Miata. A yoki suppressant was on her palm. The young girl was looking at it with a frown.

"Here. This is tonight's dose. Take it now." Clarice told the girl in a kindly manner.

Miata stubbornly shook her head. She was refusing to take it. She didn't like them. Not at all. She didn't want to eat them. They weren't filling. They are not tasty.

"Hey! Didn't you promise earlier? That you would properly take it later?" The brunette questioned the girl. She had a stern look on her face as she lightly, but firmly glared at the girl with disapproval.

"It's bitter… Smelly… Not yummy… Makes my head spin." Whined Miata.

But Clarice was undeterred. "But you promised! If you break your promises, I won't let you do that thing you did earlier anymore!" She exclaimed. Miata had to learn to not disobey...even if she could rip her limb from limb with little to no effort. But the young girl was just that: a young girl. And she was imprinted as her Mama… and she didn't want to disappoint Mama.

Hearing those words Clarice was surprised when Miata quickly took the pill and shoved it into her mouth. The brunette watched in silence when the girl bared her teeth, looking as if she were struggling to keep something in. Then there was an audible gulp when Miata swallowed the pill.

"Bitter. Smelly… Not yummy…" Miata softly complained, shuddering with her teeth bared. She looked as if she was trying to hold herself back from crying.

" _She didn't have to chew it then."_ Clarice thought. Then she looked down at Miata when the young girl wrapped her arms around her.

Miata buried her face into the brunette's stomach and Clarice could feel her bodysuit getting damp as Miata started to cry. "Sorry… I'm sorry. Mama…" The little girl looked up, tears were freely running down her cheeks. "I'll keep my promises… so please don't hate me… mama…" she pleaded, trying her best to not sob. The poor girl was so scared that she made Clarice hate her with her earlier refusal and stubbornness.

Clarice let out a sigh. "Don't worry. I would never hate you Miata," she reassured the girl.

Miata gave Clarice a hopeful look. "Really? Really truly?" She asked, tears still flowing from her eyes.

"Really truely. Trust me, Miata." Clarice answered with what she hoped was a motherly smile. The girl beamed happily at that before a single eye grew wide and pushed a surprised Clarice away from her.

"Wh-what?! Miata?!"

The reason Miata had for pushing her away became all too clear. As Miata hopped back herself, four extended fingers impaled the ground the brunette was standing on. Prompting the brunette to snap her head upwards.

"Huh?" She breathed.

But Miata had already armed herself with her claymore. She leapt up and bisected a winged youma at the waist. Its corpse hit the ground as the earth itself was dirted by its purple blood, spurting out from both ends.

"Youma?!"

More emerged from the woodwork and soon Clarice and Miata both found themselves corned on all sides. And only Miata was armed! Fortunately for Clarice, she had her claymore and armour next to her feet. Unfortunately, the neither Clarice or Miata would have enough time to get into them.

"A group of youma?! Why are they all the way out here?"

Thankfully, these ones seemed to be the common ones. They were without wings or any other assortment of appendages that would have given them a slight edge. The youmas all gave out a roar before they charged at the claymores. Baring her teeth with narrowed eyes Clarice quickly got down and grabbed her sword, before she sliced one youma in half diagonally and the other on the shoulder. Purple blood sprayed from their wound and they fell to the ground.

Confident that they were down for good Clarice turned to see how Miata was doing. The young girl in question leapt into the middle of four, and with a blur of motion, she sliced all four of them into many bloody chunks.

"Amazing Miata!" Clarice praised with a smile. So focused was she on the little one, the brunette never noticed that one of the youmas she had cut down had gotten back up. She heard footsteps rapidly approaching and turned just in time to see both youmas coming at her! Baring her teeth with wide, panicked eyes Clarice deflected one of their slashes, only for the brunette to get knocked down on her back with a cry.

Her opponents both growled before one of them extended his digits and tried to impale her. Clarice leapt up and out of the way; as a result, the stretched fingers had hit the ground instead.

Clarice was doing admirably well to keep herself from panicking. "Even though I cut him… was it too shallow?!" She yelled. Clarice was angry at her own weakness. Was she so weak that common youma were stronger than her?!

Suddenly she was alarmed when both of them were midair. And both were above her. With a growl Clarice tried to bisect one, only to be startled when that one to grabbed her forearms and sent her back towards the ground. The Number 47 landed in a crouch and looked up as the youma descended upon her. When they landed, one on her front and the other behind, Clarice took the opportunity to attack first.

And dashed towards the one in front, "Take th-" she roared, only to cut her own words off when her sword met resistance. "Eh? Eh? Wha…" Then she looked and found the cause: it got caught halfway through a tree. "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding-"

"GRAAK!" The youma behind her dashed forth to gut her from behind, prompting Clarice to let out a terrified scream. Her breath got caught in her throat when a sword was thrown past her. The sharp end missing her face by mere _centimetres_. "GA…" The youma's roar was cut off when it found itself getting stabbed through the damn head, courtesy of the thrown claymore.

She gasped and looked towards the only person who could have done that with such accuracy.

"MIATA!" Cried out a horrified Clarice. The girl in question had one arm outstretched, and she was no longer armed. "MIATA! YOUR SWORD!"

Miata had just enough time to let out one word, "Mama…" before she was dogpiled by no less than _six_ youmas at once.

"MIATA!" Clarice, understandably, was horrified by this. The poor woman thought she had gotten the Number 4 killed because of her lack of strength. Because she had made the little girl eat the yoki suppressants!

Just when she was about to fall into despair, all six youmas surrounding the little girl were quite literally torn apart limb from limb. It was so sudden, so unexpected, that Clarice outright froze as an unharmed but gore covered Miata emerged from the carnage.

"Mama mama,"

Seeing that the remaining two youmas did what _anyone_ in that situation would have done. They turned and ran away as if the flames of hell were on their asses. Unfortunately for them, Miata had already taken notice and was already on the move. They didn't get far. The Number 4 leapt onto the back of one youma, and drove her fist through the back of its neck and out through the mouth in a brutal fashion. It was dead before it hit the ground. Then the little girl turned to the remaining youma and quite literally smacked its head off its shoulders. The headless corpse fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Clarice, who was no longer trying to dislodge her sword from the tree, just stared at the blood covered Miata with her jaw trembling. Now she realized… this was not just an ordinary little girl… this was a _dangerous_ , and mentally unstable little girl who's absurdly strong… even when she's on suppressants.

Miata reached out to her and started to walk over, softly saying, "Mama mama mama…" then noticed she had her fingers lodged in the head of the youma she literally slapped to death. She stopped walking and childishly swiped her arm back and forth to get the head off her fingers, and once it was dislodged she started walking again, crushing the head beneath her foot. She didn't even notice.

Clarice stared down at the girl. Scared and speechless as she wrapped her blood-drenched arms around her waist again.

"Mama mama mama…" Clarice started shaking as she reached up, hesitated, before putting her arm around the back of her head. The other arm soon followed. "Mama mama mama…"

She didn't know if she could handle this kind of responsibility...

* * *

As the brunette and blonde claymores made their way to Galatea's location, Clarice was mentally recounting their journey.

" _Since then… we have been fighting youmas and Awakened Beings countless times."_ an image of Miata and Clarice facing off a multiheaded worm-like Awakened One with jagged teeth came to the brunette's mind. That image was gone as soon as it appeared though as Clarice looked at the young girl holding her hand. _"Somehow, even while unable to read youma energy, Miata keeps heading towards our destination, seemingly feeling the difference in the air around there with her eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin."_

Other images flashed in Clarice's head; severed limbs, gore, corpses of youma and Awakened Ones, blood dirtying the floor. _"In the battles, I was injured in, I've encountered many situations in which it seemed like I would lose my life. But still… I'm still alive somehow by taking my time and healing my body."_

Clarice looked ahead of her and the image in her mind changed once more to herself… and Miata. They were leaned against a tree and the younger girl was breastfeeding again. It was something she was long used to by now. But…

" _The impression of the small child I hugged when I first met Miata is long gone. Instead, there is something that can easily rip apart the monsters I am no match for, a presence beyond those monsters… To be… completely honest… it's Miata that scares me the most…"_

The two claymores continued on their way to their destination, with Miata leading the way with her five senses.

* * *

At the end of their journey, Clarice stared at the settlement before her with befuddlement. There weren't many places in This World that had walls to protect them; the only ones Clarice knew by hand were Egon, Doga, Rabona, Morris, and Lacrona. The place she and Miata were in front of was the Holy City of Rabona, who has zero tolerance towards anything unnatural. And Claymores such as herself and Miata fall under that category.

The reason why Clarice was confused is that Miata's senses had led them both here. Which meant…

"Here?" Clarice asked aloud, then she turned to look down at the little girl holding on to her hand. "Are you sure about this, Miata? Even if you say so, that she would be in a city, it's more likely that she would choose mountains or forests to avoid human contact." as she talked Clarice raised her gaze to the mountains on their right. It made more sense for Galatea to remain isolated as that would mean there is a lesser chance for her getting discovered.

Miata shook her head. "She's here," she said softly, prompting Clarice to look back down at her with a surprised blink. The brunette could hear the conviction in the girl's voice. She was certain that Galatea was inside. "It's here. The smell… of a very strong Claymore."

Clarice merely stared down at Miata in silence. Then the brunette closed her eyes and let out a defeated sigh before turning her gaze back to the city in front of them. Well, Handler Rando _did_ essentially say Miata's 'sixth sense' is sharpened to the point she can track her targets through her five senses alone. So if she said Galatea was inside Rabona's walls then she behind the city walls.

Now they were in a predicament: Rabona has zero tolerance towards anything unnatural and _will_ attempt to kill claymores the moment they're spotted. So how are they going to get inside?

"Mama?"

Clarice gave Miata a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand, "I'm just trying to find a way to get us both inside is all." the brunette looked back to the city and frowned lightly. "I'll have to find us some cloaks to cover ourselves with. We can't have anyone knowing what we are or else bad things will happen." in the meantime, she can take that yoki suppressant pill; at least with her hair being brown she'll be able to move right on in with little to no suspicion if she's asked to show her face.

Miata didn't understand what her mama was talking about but she nodded nonetheless. If mama wanted to put a cloak on her to get inside then she'll put one on. With that the little girl allowed mama to pull her along as they sought out some hooded cloaks to wear.


	26. Chapter: Extra scene 2

Miria, Queenie, Tabitha, and Yuma, Flora, Clare, Wendy, Lily, Jean, Natalie, Deneve, Zelda, Juliana, Cynthia, Helen, Eva, and Lucia along with Elda and Riful were watching the now former Abyssal One of the South and Naruto interact with one another. They were rather comfortable around each other, as if they were the closest of friends, as Naruto had mentioned before.

It was the curious Natalie that brought up a question she had on her mind. "So… how did the two of you meet?"

Both Naruto and Luciela stopped talking before they looked behind at the women. Then they exchanged looks. "Should we tell them?" the former asked.

Luciela shrugged in a 'it doesn't matter to me' kind of manner, "It's entirely up to you. I won't stop you if you do."

"Alright," after that Naruto turned his gaze back to the curious women, even Riful who had been with Luciela for seven years was curious as to how they met. "I'll have to start at the very beginning."

"Take your time," Flora encouraged.

Naruto nodded with a smile, "Alright… it started a little over 7 years ago…"

* * *

 _7 years, three months ago_

 _Sitting down atop a wide, flat hill Naruto stared up at the clear skies above, shielding his eyes with his forearm as the sun glared down at him. It's been one week since he found himself here in this strange, foreign land and so far all attempts he made to get home ended in failure. Even attempting to reverse summon himself back to Konoha from Mount Myoboku had ended with himself on this strange land. Luckily, he found a town a while back, and Naruto was glad to see they could speak his language, but the alphabet here was of a dialect he did not recognise. So, he found himself being unable to read._

 _Not to mention the clothes they wore was different than he was used to seeing. The difference in the written dialect and attire they wore had told Naruto he was not in the Elemental Nations anymore. And now, a week later, with all attempts trying to get back to Konoha from Mount Myumoku, Naruto was damn sure he wasn't on the same planet!_

 _Still, he had to admit, this world was very pretty. The scenery was nice, there were green lands all around, and both plains and mountains could be seen for miles on end. It's not a bad place to settle down to be perfectly honest._

 _Wearing his fabled sage coat, the horned forehead protector, burnt orange pants, a orange and black jacket and a face mask that covered half of it up, the blond mulled on his situation. He didn't have Kurama with him anymore, he had a single tails worth of chakra in him still, he had been deaged-somehow-from being 17 to 15 and while he still had the Old Man Sage's chakra in him, the blond wasn't going to risk using it._

 _Naruto wasn't sure, but he had a feeling the Six Paths chakra in him was connected to Kurama's. He wasn't going to risk using it, just in case using that chakra drains away what was left of Kurama's chakra in him. It's better to be safe than reckless after all._

 _Naruto jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar, regal, but clearly feminine voice._

" _Oh, I didn't know someone was here,"_

 _Snapping his head in the direction the female's voice came from, Naruto saw her. Tall, slender, long brown hair tied in brunches. She had a heart-shaped face, high cheekbones, and full lips. The brunette wore a strapless long-sleeved red dress with many ruffles on the sleeves and on the dress itself that reached to her ankles. Worn at the very top were decorated metal plates that seemed to keep it in place. Finishing off the look was a pair of sandal-like flip flops. The woman had a noble-like air around her, and she wore an outfit to match._

 _She had a small, disarming smile on her lips as she stared across from him on the wide flat hill. Naruto had no idea why but he got a feeling of 'danger' when he looked at her, but didn't understand why. He didn't sense anything wrong. Though he couldn't sense any negative emotions from her either. There was something off about her though, he could sense..._ something. _It wasn't chakra, but it was a type of energy._

 _Nevertheless, Naruto smiled at the woman, "There are not many people around. You couldn't have known anyway." he pointed out to her._

 _The woman let out a laugh, "Very, very true." she strode on over to Naruto and stood beside him as he looked back towards the landscape before him. "What brings you here...?" she trailed off, obviously fishing for his name._

 _Unknown to Naruto, the woman was assessing him to see if he was a threat. She clearly knew there was something off about him. She couldn't sense anything emitting from him, but the brunette knew there was more to him than meets the eye._

" _Naruto. And, nothing really. I... I guess you can say I'm lost." he freely admitted with a shrug. "I'm… lost and am trying to find a way back home. I haven't been successful so far, though."_

" _Oh?" the woman eased herself down on the ground and sat beside him. "And how did you find yourself here, Naruto?"_

 _At that, he gave her a clueless shrug. "To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. I'm still trying to find out how to get back home, but, no luck so far," he told her. Naruto was still trying to figure that out. He even tried to recount the steps taken to here, but so far he found nothing. It was honestly annoying him. It could have been a reverse summoning gone wrong for all he knew, but he didn't._

 _The woman beside him blinked at that; her head quirked to the side with curiosity. "Oh? And where is your home?" she asked._

" _If I knew, I would be going back there right now," Naruto answered with an exhausted sigh. "It's got lots of trees around it though, and it's very well hidden. So it's making my search… frustrating."_

 _It wasn't a total lie and Naruto found it easier to mix a truth with a lie instead of telling a full one. It would make it easier for him to recall that partial truth as well and something told Naruto he would be doing it a lot in the near future._

 _Lots of trees…? The woman curled her index finger against her chin thoughtfully. Mucha had a lot of trees, and so did Lautrec and Toulouse. It's certainly a possibility there are places she has not discovered yet, This World was rather big for one person to explore after all. But it's entirely possible Lautrec is the location this young man is looking for._

 _She was taken out of her thoughts when Naruto said, "I'll find it again sooner or later. I just have to keep going forward without giving up." then he turned to the brunette and asked, "So, I told you my name, but I never got yours."_

 _The woman smiled at that, "Luciela. My name is Luciela."_

 _Naruto smiled and offered a hand for her to shake, "It's nice to meet you Luciela,"_

 _The woman looked at the hand for a moment before reaching out and grasping it in a firm grip. Then they shook hands and she smiled politely at him. After that Luciela let go and turned her attention to the scenery before her._

" _If you are lost, and have no idea where you are, then what do you intend to do?"_

 _At that, Naruto just gave the brunette a shrug, "I'll go and explore. Get the lay of the land. Just try and do something to occupy myself." He knew for sure that the Toad Summons are working on a way to get him back to the Elemental Nations right now. He wasn't going to sit around and wait on them, though. He needed something to do._

" _I see, I see," Luciela nodded slowly to herself._

* * *

"And that was how the two of us met." Naruto finished regaling his tale of his first meeting with Luciela with a bright smile.

Everyone stared at them with dulled eyes, even Riful herself was looking at him and Luciela with an odd look on her face. The silence that dominated the atmosphere was starting to get a little awkward. Thankfully, Helen was the one to break it.

"To be honest… I was expecting your first meeting with the Abyssal One of the South to be more… exciting than that."

"Not all things have to be grim y'know," Naruto pointed out to her. "But I can see where you're coming from. To be perfectly honest, if I knew what Luciela was at the time of our meeting, that outcome could have been very different."

"Yes." Luciela nodded wholeheartedly in agreement. "Naruto had no idea what I was. And I had no idea what he was capable of, either. To be fair, my stumbling upon him was not by pure chance. I sensed something off in my territory and I spent an entire week trying to find the cause of it. It eventually led me to him."

"And I actually hung out with her for a while before we went our separate ways. I did offer her to join me in my exploration, but she refused. I can understand why, now. With you ladies wandering about from place to place, it would have been a matter of time before the Organization sent a hunting party after her. And if she left Mucha, Isley or Riful would have taken that in the worst way possible and attacked us out of misplaced provocation… or tried to usurp her territory when she wasn't there."

"So, when did Luciela try to send signals that she wanted to bed you?" Flora asked; she wanted to know the juicy details. And Naruto being Naruto, Flora was damn sure it was going to be one hell of a ride.

Naruto cleared his throat, "It, uh… Well, I didn't know at the time… I was still clueless about those type of things back then, but when Luciela started showing those signals, it had to be during the start of the second week."

" _That_ had to be the most fun I ever had," Luciela stated with a grin.

"I take it you had worn different clothes to when we first met, when you found yourself here?" Miria asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Granted, most of the clothes I was wearing when we first met was very similar. Only, the ones' I wore when I found myself here would be kind of an eyesore and make me stand out like fire in the dead of night."

"And what you were wearing before didn't make you stand out?" Deneve asked, raising an eyebrow at him with disbelief evident in her voice.

"I'll let you be the judge of that," Naruto said with a smile, before he was enveloped by a cloud of smoke. And when it dispersed into the air, Naruto was now wearing the same clothes he had been wearing in his retelling.

He wore the sage coat, face mask and horned forehead protector, but that was where the similarities ended. Naruto was now wearing orange. A lot of it. "Holy crap, that _is_ an eyesore!" Helen exclaimed animatedly. Then she looked at him with a questioning look on her face. "Orange? Seriously? What kind of an Assassin wears _that_?"

"Don't diss the orange." Naruto flatly told her. "And as for what kind… the best kind."

Flora nodded in total agreement. "Wearing bright orange clothes in the middle of the day, while defacing an entire monument carved into a cliff, and no one noticed until you were almost finished. And that was before you became an assassin." She grinned widely at him, "The best kind indeed."

"What?" Helen looked at Naruto with wide eyes. An action that everyone else copied. "There's no way!"

"It's the truth," Naruto admitted with a sheepish shrug. "Trust me, if you can hide from people in broad daylight wearing the brightest colours then hiding with clothes to make you blend in will be a sinch. If you're in the right place then the clothes you ladies are wearing will help you blend in with your surroundings. It'll be hard to see you if it's night out."

That got Riful to ponder on her choice of clothes. Maybe she should dye the colour to black to make it easier to hunt? It was something to think on.


	27. Chapter 25

The Holy City of Rabona was bustling with activity. Her streets were filled with people who're doing their day to day activities. However, if one were to really look for it, there was a sense of tense nervousness in the atmosphere, though the citizens of Rabona were doing an admirable job to not show it as they did their everyday occupations. There were even armoured soldiers patrolling the streets, but was not uncommon for large cities such as Rabona.

Walking among the populace with hooded cloaks concealing them was Miata and Clarice. Getting the cloaks for them to hide under was a bit tougher than Clarice had been expecting but it had been doable. And with them having taken the yoki suppression pills that changed the colour of their eyes, the two claymores were able to slip on in. However, they had to be quick about it; the pills won't last long, so they had to find Galatea before its effects wears off.

"Whew…" Miata let out a breath and reached up to pull down her hood, only for Clarice to stop her.

"No, don't take it off," she told the child beside her with a soft, yet stern tone. "If we're caught, then going through all the trouble of hiding our yoki was for nothing." Miata wordlessly obeyed. The brunette blinked and stared ahead of her as she exhaled. "Man, this is almost like a tree hiding in the forest! Just had to pick the most troublesome place to hide, didn't she."

Clarice and Miata continued their walk down a street as they took in the sights around them. Well, Clarice did. Miata was more focused on the mission. Further down the street in front of them, in the centre of the Holy City itself, was the Cathedral.

"The Holy City of Rabona, huh?" muttered the brunette with awe in her voice. She and Miata must be the first claymores to be this far into the Holy City in nearly a decade! The brunette inhaled sharply when she spotted a small platoon of armoured soldiers making their rounds. Internally, the brunette was relieved they didn't seem to be looking in their direction. So, she and Miata kept their heads down as they walked past one another.

However, just as the two claymores passed the patrol one of the men looked in their direction, and seeing the hooded cloaks the two wore, he looked at the ground. The soldier saw their sabatons... and the pointy end of their sword sticking out of the hem of their cloaks.

"Hm…" seeing that the man frowned, stopped walking, and turned to face them, "Hey, you!" he called out, "What's that on your back? Take off those mantles now!"

"Oh no-" Instead of doing what he told them to do, Clarice grabbed hold of Miata's wrist and took off in a run, "-c'mon!" she urged the little girl, as she dragged her along. Clarice's hood fell back as they made a run for it.

"Hold it!" the soldier chased after them with the rest of the patrol in pursuit.

Clarice was panting as she and Miata ran away from their pursuers. The brunette took a sharp turn to her right and came to a skidding halt when she saw two plate armoured soldiers spears standing guard in front of another corner several feet in front of them. The woman snapped her head back over her shoulder to see the shadow of their pursuers approaching the corner they took.

They needed a way out, _now_!

As if the gods themselves were watching down on her….

"Psst… up here!"

Clarice heard someone trying to catch their attention. So she and Miata looked up and saw a blonde, ponytailed man in his middle-to-late 20s, garbed in plate pauldrons and padded leather armour mixed with civilian garbs, holding out his hand to them atop a roof!

"Jump on up. I'm sure it's no problem for the two of you," he told them with a small grin.

"Eh...?" Clarice blinked in bewilderment. Was he… helping them? She snapped her head to her left and saw their pursuers had finally turned that corner and were running towards' them. "Damn! Let's do it, Miata; follow me!" the brunette said as she looked at her charge; then Clarice started wall jumping until she got to the very top.

The man quickly grabbed hold of her forearm, "Yo…!" he said as a form of greeting before pulling the brunette onto the roof with him. Then he looked back down and offered his hand out to Miata to take hold of, "Now it's your turn young lady." he called down to her.

"Mama…"

The soldiers were getting closer to the girl and she didn't seem to notice as she stood in place, looking up at the rooftops. Seeing the little girl wasn't going to be moving anytime soon without prompting, Clarice quickly leaned over the edge and called out to Miata.

"What are you doing?! Hurry!"

That was all the child-like Miata needed to hear. The girl bent her knees and with a mighty leap, she jumped up and over Clarice and the stranger and landed on her feet on the middle of the roof.

"Sweet." The man grinned obviously impressed by the feat.

"Mama… mama…" muttered Miata.

Clarice perked up in alarm when she heard the men shouting below.

"They flew!"

"Up there!"

"Quickly, we have to contact the others, now!"

Clarice let out an audible gulp. Well, _that_ didn't sound good. She almost wished she was back in Alphonse. Almost. The woman let her thoughts drift off to the Youma Hunter and wondered how he was. She hoped he was alright…

The brunette was pulled out of her thoughts when the man they entrusted themselves too, took off running, "C'mon! We can't hang around here, follow me!" he urged from over his shoulder.

Clarice got up, took Miata's hand and followed after him. It wasn't like they had much of a choice here… still, the brunette couldn't help but think this was a trap. But, she hoped she was wrong.

* * *

Clarice and Miata were led through several back alleys for almost an hour. The blond man leading them knew the streets of Rabona like it was the back of his hand, and soon enough they lost the pursuing patrolmen. After that, the man had deemed it safe enough to bring them to a seemingly rundown building, and he proceeded to open the door to show the interior of the building was actually well kept.

"C'mon in," the man told them invitingly, "they won't find you lovely ladies in here."

They didn't make it two steps into the building before someone else spoke up. "What happened?" a deep baritone voice of a well-built man said when he saw the younger man bringing in Miata and Clarice into the building. The man in question had short brown hair and looked like he had seen some shit, as he had a nasty looking scar on his cheek and he wore the same armour as Rabona's guards. The brunette stiffened in shock as his eyes looked them over, before they focused on the blond, "You're supposed to be making your rounds, Cid."

The man, Sid, just smiled and replied, "Well ya see, I found some interesting new friends. Two Claymores, Galk."

Thinking the worst Clarice immediately pulled her sword out of its slot and held it protectively, "I knew it! A trap! You won't capture us here!" the brunette exclaimed, her lips thinning in determination and a hint of fear. "I understand the Holy City doesn't welcome us, but we have a mission to finish at all costs!"

Sid and Galk looked at them bemused for a moment, before the latter calmly said, "Calm down. Ever since that day seven years ago, this city has been changing, little by little. Now we're happy to have you."

When Galk spoke Sid had gone to take a seat behind a table and had enjoyed seeing the sheer dumbfounded look on Clarice's face.

The woman in question blinked owlishly while Miata merely cocked her head to the side with childish wonder.

"Huh?"

They must've seen how utterly confused Clarice was because Sid drew her attention to him when he started to explain the change, "A long time ago, one of you guys saved my hide. I guess you could say she saved the whole city too. Ever since then, Priest Vincent's hard work helped tame this city's unreasonable boycott. But, we're still not allowed to cooperate in public. Those soldiers back there were simply doing their jobs. Your clothes had clearly shown you were trying to hide your identity so I thought I'd lend you a hand."

Clarice looked down at the ground thoughtfully at that. That was… relieving to hear. Very relieving. She let out a breath she had unknowingly been holding until that very moment; and just then, it was like a heavy weight had been lifted.

Miata just stood there. Doing nothing but hold onto Mama's hand like the good girl she was.

Galk had taken that time to stand beside Sid.

"So tell us," the sitting male spoke up, drawing Clarice's attention to him. "Have you come here on a request to slay a youma?" he asked with a genuine look of curiosity on his face.

Clarice furrowed her brow in slight confusion, "Eh? N-no, this is a little different. I'm not really allowed to say… we're just going to handle a personal problem within our organization. Speaking of which… do you know of any youma in town?"

The two men exchanged looks for a moment before they turned their eyes back to the claymores.

"Although we have no proof, people have been disappearing periodically within the past few months." Galk said, with the corners of his lips pulling down into a deep frown, "Suspecting it was the work of a youma, we've upped the number of scouts. And now the two of you came along."

Clarice looked at the two thoughtfully. "I see… so that's what happened." There was a long pause as she took a moment to think about the situation.

"Pretty much," Cid replied.

Nodding to herself, Clarice decided to take advantage of this opportunity. "Although we're not here to hunt down a youma, we'd be glad to assist you," she said. "In exchange, though, we would like some information. You don't even need to worry about paying for the kill if you agree to help us."

That sounded rather nice, actually…

"What information is it you're looking for?" Sid asked.

Okay, so far so good. Clarice decided to tell them a partial truth since if she told them the real reason why they're here in the Holy City they won't help or will purposely give false information. "To be frank, we're looking for a fellow soldier, but there are too many people in the city. If you know of any woman who moved here by herself in the past couple of years, please tell us."

"That's a long time." Sid replied with a slight frown, "There are far too many women who fit into that description. That's extremely hard to investigate." There were hundreds of women who entered the Holy City alone in the past two years and going further back and you would have close to a thousand. With a possible youma preying on the citizens and the patrols on the streets, they were spread too thin to be of any help until this problem they have is sorted out.

Clarice thought about it for a moment and had a epiphany. "Out of all of them, we're looking for someone blind."

Sid looked surprised at that. "...Blind?"

"At the moment, the two of us have taken a special medicine to change the colour of our eyes. But our eye colour is actually silver." Clarice gestured to her eyes, the irsises were brown and Miata's were green. "It's because we're always suppressing our yoki. Even if we could completely suppress it, our eyes still wouldn't change. I can't imagine she had several years worth of this medicine to keep her eye colour normal. I think it's far more likely she is acting blind by keeping her eyes closed all the time."

"You don't say…" Sid lowered his hand to the table and let out a bemused chuckle, "to think we've been letting a silver-eyed witch slip past us by playing blind. We've been far too laid back."

Clarice visibly perked up at that. "Eh? Then...you mean…?" Did they finally have a lead to finding Galatea in this large city?

Sid rubbed the side of his nose with his thumb, "There is one. A blind woman who appeared a couple of years back."

* * *

Sometime later, at the Cathedral in the middle of Rabona, several smiling children were seen leaving the place of worship, waving goodbye to the nun that escorted them out of the building with a fond smile. The woman had her headpiece tipped down so it was covering her eyes in shadow.

"Thanks, sister!"

"See ya tomorrow!"

The children in question called out as they waved their goodbyes.

"Not so fast, now! Be careful on your way home." the nun called out to them, talking to them as if they were her children.

"Sorry!"

The woman stood in front of the doorway and watched them leave with a sense of accomplishment… and foreboding. They were here for her. She can sense them in the city, along with a third, more powerful yoki aura. If this doesn't work out then this may be the final time she gets to be with the children.

The nun looked to her left when she heard footsteps. Stepping out of the Cathedral beside her was a priest, with short dark hair and a goatee. He had a smile on his face as he stepped beside her with his hands clasped behind his back.

"I say, they're like this every day. Even the most zealous believers don't come this often." the priest said. "Still, ever since you arrived, they've all opened up/ All these orphaned children must think of you as their mother."

"No, I should thank you. I'm forever in your debt for taking me in, despite being a complete stranger." The priest's smile grew a little wider at that and opened his mouth to reply, only for the nun to interrupt him, "However, I'm afraid today will be my last day here. I thank you for treating me so well, from the bottom of my heart. Although it was only a couple of years, being able to live as a normal human means more to me than anything." there was resignation in her voice, and she wished she could live as a normal human forever; but, she didn't seem depressed.

"Sister Latea...?" the priest slowly raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes until they were wide open with confusion. "What are you saying?" His attention was taken away from the nun beside him when he heard the sound of plate armour approaching them with purpose in their step, and was surprised to see Clarice and Miata standing in front of them with the former having her claymore drawn.

"Galatea, the former Number 3. We've got orders to take your head." Clarice stated, loud enough for the nun to hear.

The priest's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Wha-? Claymores!?"

"Please get away from me Father," the nun, Galatea, kindly warned the man, who snapped his head in her direction with even greater surprise. "They have finally come to get me."

The priest could only mutter a stunned, "Eh?" before Miata dashed forth with her hand on the handle of her claymore. Galatea quickly hopped to her right just as the little girl pulled out her claymore and diagonally slashed at her.

The woman landed in a kneel, and Clarice was beside her, with her sword poised to take off her head.

"HIYA!"

Only for the woman to lean and duck under the swipe that was meant to take off her head. Brick shattered behind the woman as Clarice found her sword lodged several inches in hard stone.

"Eh… what…?" Clarice felt her eye twitch with irritation. That was the _second_ time this happened! The brunette looked behind her to see Galatea tearing the side of her nun-attire from the hem all the way to her thigh, to give herself better mobility.

Miata dashed forward once more, the tip of her claymore aiming to impale the woman through the chest. Galatea, in a grand display that showed a lot of leg strength, backflipped up and over the sword and landed on the windowsill above. The woman narrowly missed the sword running her though, and the claymore sword instead shattered a small portion of the brick wall. Miata pulled her claymore out with a sharp tug and leapt after the woman. Galatea leapt back, shattering the stained glass behind her as Miata hacked and slashed at her, shattering the windowsill and destroying the wall around it.

Galatea leaned back, just barely missing a quick swipe that could have chopped her in twain at the waist.

"You are strong, aren't you?" she complimented, smiling at the girl attacking her. Galatea's stepped on the back of a bed, her bed, and with no effort at all, flipped it up to block Miata's next swipe of her sword.

The edge of Miata's sword cut through the wooden underbelly like a hot knife through butter… only for a metal _CLANG!_ to ring out. Miata looked surprised when she saw a claymore sword stopping hers from taking Galatea's head.

"If I get this sword into you, you'll be able to sleep soundly on the softest bed, remember that." The woman chided the child, much like a mother would to their disobedient offspring. Miata's eye grew wide a slight tad when Galatea released enough yoki for her veins to become visible.

The next thing the mentally unstable child knew, she found herself being _thrown_ clear across the room and out of whatever remained of the window. She righted herself midair and skid along the ground on her hands and knees like a cat.

Galatea hopped out of the hole in the wall and landed on her feet. The priest behind her gasped in shock when he saw 'Sister Latea' holding a claymore sword, the same one as Clarice and Miata are holding.

"Sister Latea! Y-you're…!"

"Please accept my sincerest apologies for deceiving you, Father." Galatea told the man without taking her gaze away from Clarice and Miata. "If I may make one last request, I'd like the children to remember me as just a regular Sister."

The shocked priest was quiet, but if Sister Latea were to fall to their blades, then he will honour her request to the best of his ability. The former Number 3 hummed and the corners of her lips quirked upwards into a slight smile. She...somehow knew that the Father would comply with her final request if she was to die to them here.

Then she focused her attention to Clarice, who was baring her teeth nervously with her claymore sword held up in front of her. "Hmm… compared to others I've met, your yoki is minuscule. Are you really a warrior?"

"You're lying! There's no way you can sense my yoki! You're just saying that because of the colour of my hair!" the brunette yelled back.

The woman frowned and quirked her head to the side. "Hm? Your hair colour changed? Then that means..." that can't be right, the Organization wouldn't send out a defective warrior on a mission like this, not unless they were… oh. And just that Galatea understood and couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Oh, now I get it. For them to send the two of you after me, the Organization must be seriously short-handed right now."

She was honestly expecting some very strong warriors, a few single digits in fact, but considering the threat that's hiding here in the city, she'll take what she can get.

Her disappointment must've shown in her voice because the one with the very weak yoki aura snapped at her, "Don't take us lightly! Miata's far stronger th-"

"Stronger than me?" Galatea interrupted with a chuckle, "Well, at least her yoki surpasses mine. I'll give you that." then with a smile, the woman reached up with her other hand and pulled off the headdress and what Clarice saw shocked her to the core. "But ever since I lost my eyes, I've been able to read yoki like never before!"

Clarice saw a jagged scar across Galatea's eyes… which were no longer silver but that of a blind woman. Galatea was… literally blind?! Her mouth dropped open in surprise at the revelation. "What?!"

Miata glared at Galatea and with a growl, the girl dashed forward with her sword poised to slash. Galatea's blade met hers in a series of clashes, and the woman was forced to dodge and weave through Miata's slash and hacks with her now vastly superior wide range yoki sensing. The woman effortlessly deflected Miata's attacks and had a slight smile on her lips as she did so.

Clarice just could not wrap her head around it!

"W-why?! She's really blind but Miata can't land a hit!" The brunette paused as Galatea's words finally registered to her. "Wait a second… to be able to read our yoki means… she must have known we were coming!?"

Miata bared her teeth and growled in frustration at not being able to land a hit on this bad lady. Why can't she hit her?!

"Miata!" she heard Mama call out, "Release your yoki!"

Galatea narrowed her eyes and scowled with worry when Miata released her yoki… and then there was a loud scream. One that had Galatea _very_ worried. Clarice gasped and reflexively looked in the direction she heard the scream coming from, and Miata just kept on going after Galatea as she was ignoring everything else except the target in front of her.

"Shit! I was almost close enough!" Galatea cursed aloud.

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of Rabona, everyone in the vicinity of the scream had stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction the sound came from.

"Hey… you hear that? Someone's screaming!"

With Sid and Galk, they immediately got to their feet the moment they heard the scream.

"Galk!" Sid shouted in alarm.

"Yeah," the man had a knowing tone in his voice, "it's just like seven years ago. That's a youma's voice."

"No…" Galk looked to his partner with a concerned frown, Sid looked scared, "it feels like something far worse than that."

Things were about to get bad. Very, very bad.


	28. Chapter 26

The entire city was in a state of chaos.

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK! GUARDS! MAKE THE EVACUATION OF THE CITIZENS YOUR PRIORITY!"

People were dying to a youma they had never seen before and the guards were mobilizing in force to repel the attacker, stop any more casualties, and kill the youma in question.

"HURRY! GATHER THE GUARDS! DON'T LET THERE BE ANY FURTHER CASUALTIES!"

That was what Sid and Galk came to find when they got to the epic centre of it all. They saw soldiers everywhere and frightened civilians being escorted out of the city. They had seen no bodies so far… but the buildings in this area were damaged, like something absolutely huge had hooked itself to the walls and used them as support beams.

Sid turned to the nearest soldier and barked, "What's the situation?!"

"It's bad! We've already lost several soldiers!"

There were more screams, screams of normal people, up ahead followed by the sound of shattering bricks and something big moving. A huge amount of smoke cloud rolled in and concealing whatever was happening on the ground. And from the dying, terrified screams going on inside that was probably for the best.

That was when Sid looked ahead saw _something_. Something dangerously big. And his eyes grew wide with gut-wrenching terror. "What… what the _hell_ is that?"

The _thing_ was huge, and looked like a damn spider from where he stood! It's 8 crab-like legs were attached to many buildings around it, using it as a way to elevate itself well above the buildings and giving it the height advantage. It had several spike-like things producing from the bottom of it.

That thing could _not_ be a youma! Or an ordinary youma! What the hell was it?!

Unseen by any of them, lying down on top of the creature was an attractive young woman with long and wavy auburn hair that reaches to her waistline, her hairline had a point in the front before falling in curls to frame her slender face and a noticeable lack of eyebrows. The woman has a noticeable hourglass figure with large breasts, a small waist, and wide childbearing hips. She was lying in quite the alluring position, her arms raised above her head and her legs were positioned in such a way it hid her vagina, but showed just enough to set a man's libido on fire.

The woman had a look of complete and utter apathy on her pretty face. "How irritating. This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself with irritation and a slight frown pulling at the corners of her lips, "Why do they think I've been keeping a low profile up until now? I even gave it my all to hold back on eating to avoid suspicion…" she let out a sigh of utter boredom and disappointment, "All this consideration… for nothing. How awful."

The woman _was_ the youma. She _was_ the spider thing. No one could see her nakedness on top of the thing that acted as her platform.

Everyone was pretty much looking at the spider thing as if it came from the deepest parts of their nightmares.

"What on Earth is that?" a wide-eyed, near terror-stricken Sid questioned aloud, knowing he was not going to get an answer to it anytime soon.

"A-Are we dreaming?" an equally near terror-stricken Galk questioned; that thing, it simply cannot be real. It just can't be! He had to be dreaming!

"GYAAAA!"

Sid looked to his right in alarm when one of the soldiers was yanked off the ground and pulled towards the thing by… hair? What the…?

That very same soldier was let out terrified screams as he was brought to the very top, where the woman was lying. And while he was still terrified, his fear was mixed with utter bewilderment, and arousal when he saw he was being brought to an attractive brunette that was stark naked.

"There's no need to be scared," the woman cooed enticingly, there was a hint of hunger in her voice as she brought the armoured man to him with her arm outstretched in his direction. "It's alright… I'll be gentle…"

The bound man just stared down at the naked brunette with a frightened look on his face, even as his helmet was pulled off by one of those tendril-like hairs. The woman partially closed her eyes and opened her mouth, and cupped his cheek, as if to bring him into an embracing kiss…

Then he was cut in half at the waist. The chest plate being ripped in twain effortlessly. He let out a pained gurgle before the life left his eyes. The woman closed her eyes and raised the corpse above her head and started drinking and bathing in the blood that flowed from his waist like a waterfall. Then she tossed both halves of the carcass off the platform and to the ground below, shocking Sid, Galk and many others when the carcass landed in front of them.

"Ah, this is luxury." the blood-drenched brunette sighed with pure delight. She looked at her outstretched arm and admired the red liquid that dripped from her hand. "Enough blood to bathe in and quench my thirst. Simply wonderful!" She closed her eyes and smiled, "For all the time I held myself back up until now… I think I will treat myself to something special today."

Around her several more hair-like tendrils shot out of the platform the woman was on and headed towards the soldiers who were staring up at her in terror. Sid and Galk hopped to the side to avoid them and looked over their shoulder just in time to see several men getting plucked from the ground and brought up to her screaming in pure unadulterated terror.

"And now… break." the blood covered brunette smiled sultrily up to the soon to be dead men, "Let my body bathe in that lovely flesh and blood you are made of."

The tendrils flexed and the men in her tendrils exploded in gore. Nothing remained of them except for the blood. The woman literally let out orgasmic moans as she felt the blood and skin drenching her naked body.

"Ahh… I can barely take it!" she leaned her head back so she could bask in the feeling of her physique getting wettened, and smiled widely with satisfaction, "This… this is it! This is the one thing I have craved and yearned for all this time!" She loved this so much she could almost bathe in it! Hell, she _wanted_ to bathe in it! She needed more, to state her thirst and hunger!

But, alas, someone decided to crash her little party as several spears rained from the sky, impaling her perch and even piercing her forearm in one case.

The woman blinked and looked at said forearm as she raised it with a slight frown, "Oh? What's this?"

Below the guards of Rabona had finally shaken off the fear that gripped them and was mobilizing, with Galk himself taking direct command.

"FIRST SPEAR SQUAD! SECOND SPEAR SQUAD, PREPARE!" Galk bellowed, and at his orders, two whole platoons of armed guards formed ranks and reared their spear holding arms in preparation to hurl their spears at the monster terrorising the Holy City.

"ATTAAAAAACK!" Galk roared, and the two platoons threw their projectiles at the tall, towering spider-like creature that was attached to the buildings. Their aim was impeccable and their throwing arm was impressive as the projectiles travelled upwards in an arch before they descended upon the woman on top.

The woman stared on up at them as the projectiles rapidly descended upon her. Her face was the epitome of boredom. The brunette didn't even appear to be threatened by the spears.

"Hmph."

And the projectiles were intercepted and knocked off course by several tendrils. Not one of them managed to hit her, much to the shock of Galk and the soldiers below.

"Such boring attacks. There's no way you can win like that, no matter how hard you try." The woman said with utter contempt in her voice." Then, suddenly, she smiled and quirked her head to the side, "That is what I thought… But…"

More tendrils wrapped around Sid who had taken to the rooftops and leapt onto the platform in order to attack her from behind! The hair-like tendrils wrapped around his sword arm, torso, and neck, stopping the blade that was several inches away from taking her head off.

"Tch-!" Sid growled defiantly and struggled to move his sword arm. Just a little further and her head would be off!

The woman chuckled in a sultry manner and looked at him partially over the shoulder, "This is the actual attack, isn't it? You were so close to getting to me. Maybe if you had one more step?" Then her tone and expression turned inquisitive as she added, "But those were some well-rehearsed movements… Movements as if you've assumed me to be a non-human opponent right from the start… Could it be that you were attacked by a youma or something in the past?"

Then the woman stood up… and revealed that she was 'hooked' up to the platform, as her hair actually _was_ going into the platform itself, with many more going in her back. Sid bared his teeth as the woman strode on over to him with swaying hips. The blond man was honestly more than a little creeped out, and aroused, but mostly creeped out by this chick. He leaned his head back in an attempt to get away from her touch as the non-human, youma, whatever she was, cupped his cheek much like a lover would.

"Hmm, you're pretty handsome. How about it? Feel like having fun one last time before it's all over for you?" she offered, and made herself sound as enticing as possible in order to get him to accept her proposal.

Sid gave her a wry smirk and with a chuckle said, "Heh, sorry, but I'm not interested in monsters."

"Oh? What a pity…"

Before he could even blink, Sid's arm was wrapped in three tentacles and he let out a cry of pain as all three of them tightened around his arm to the near point of having his bones snapping under the pressure.

"Sid!" Galk cried out. Then, a feminine blur entered his field of view and he heard Sister Latea's voice.

"Sorry, big guy."

Before he could react, he felt someone, Sister Latea, grab his shoulder plate.

"I'll use you as my shield for now."

And then he was tossed toward Sister Latea's pursuer, the Number 4 Miata who had the pointy end of her sword aiming for Galk's back. The little girl bared her teeth and moved her claymore out of the way in the nick of time, and embedded the tip into the ground.

Sister Latea was kneeling down as she stared at them with her blind eyes, she was smiling in relief. "So they did hammer in the iron rule of not harming humans. I'm relieved." her smile got a little wider, "Well then,"

Then the blind former Number 3 hopped on up one of the many crab-like legs, and continued to do so until she reached the top. There she slashed at the tendrils that are wrapped around Sid, freeing him from the non-humans grasp and surprising her immensely. Galatea landed behind Sid and wrapped an arm around his torso.

"Nice effort. But you are way out of your league," she told him in a polite manner. Then she leapt back with Sid in her arms, just as several tendrils shot out of the platform where they were standing. The woman let out a soft chuckle. She had sensed that coming a mile away.

Then Sister Latea turned around mid-air and threw Sid towards Clarice, "CATCH, COLOUR-HEAD!"

Down on the ground, Clarice looked up in confusion. "Eh?" Then, she saw Sid careening towards her and immediately started panicking. "Gah! Wait! This is too sudden!" Despite her protest, however, the girl dropped her sword and caught him in a bridal carry. The man let out a pained cry prompting the worried brunette to quickly lower him to the ground, "Oh my gods, I am _so_ sorry! Are you alright?"

Miata followed Galatea up and landed on the roof… with the deserter on the building opposite her, and the monster-woman in the middle.

As Miata bared her teeth, glaring at the former Number 3, and Galatea stared back with a smile and the brunette in the middle watching on in utter boredom, Clarice couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice as she said, "An Awakened Being? Here? In the Holy City of all places?!"

"A hunt for me with just the three of you, counting the colour head? I am sure being taken lightly for a former Number 2." The Awakened One in question said with a heavy frown.

"A-Ah… Number 2…?" Clarice felt her mouth go dry at that. There's no way… this Awakened Being was a former Number 2?! How was she supposed to deal with someone _that_ powerful?! She won't stand a chance against her! There was no Youma Hunter to bail her out of trouble this time around either! Would Miata and even the former Number 3 be able to fight her?!

Sister Latea, Galatea, smirked. "I knew all along," she said. "Incredibly strong and frighteningly prudent… Your name was Fresh-Blood Agatha, if I remember correctly. Indeed, a little too much for me to handle by my own, which is why I lured out these two warriors from the Organization using myself as bait."

That admittance had garnered a surprised look from Clarice. She risked her own life just to get help in order to save these people? But why didn't she just send a request for an extermination squad?

The brunette got her answer from Galatea, who continued, "Sending an extermination request as usual would have been an option. But if the warriors had come carelessly in small groups, I feared you would go wild and wipe out the entire city. This meant I had to make sure they sent warriors so powerful they could suppress their energy far away from the city and still be able to take me down without fail."

Agatha was quiet and so Galatea continued, "But the one behind you, including the colour-head being the only ones who came… is somewhat of a let down. Even so, I believe that one of them has sufficient power to make up for this." then the blind woman let out a sigh before adding, "Of course, the Youma Hunter being here would have been of immense help in taking you down since he had managed to defeat Riful of the West without getting serious, but he perished in Alphonse seven years ago."

"...So, with essentially two of you, you think you can beat me?" Agatha asked and if she had eyebrows they would be down right about now.

"I would say… we are evenly matched." The former Number 3 replied with confidence.

Agatha snorted dismissively, "Don't be ridiculous…" suddenly the platform spun around, the tendrils shooting out and demolishing the buildings around her; this forced Galatea and Miata to jump off the rooftops they were on in order to evade them.

"Ch- So fast, despite that huge body…!" Galatea inhaled sharply through her nose when she sensed Miata falling behind her. And so the woman promptly turned around and blocked the overhead strike of the Number 4 with her own claymore.

"MIATA!" a shocked Clarice shouted; what was she doing? Why was Miata attacking Galatea instead of the Awakened Being- it was there that the brunette remembered.

"Damn!" Galatea cursed, releasing her yoki in her arm to the point it started to gain muscle mass and tear the fabric, the woman swiped at Miata. Because their swords were in a stalemate, when Galatea increased the strength in her sword arm it allowed the woman to force Miata away, throwing the little girl across the clearing and through a window on the opposite end of the street.

The woman landed on yet another roof, and hopped back when she sensed Agatha attacking once again. Moments later, many tendrils smashed through the roof tiles Galatea was standing on. Galatea's acute yoki sensing had alerted her of an attack from behind, and she leaned down and ducked under a swipe that would have taken her head off, curtsy of Miata. She turned around and blocked yet another attack from the little girl.

While they were in another deadlock Agatha used their distraction to her advantage and tried to kill them once more. So, she sent four tentacles to impale them above… only for something to take control of her extra appendages and caused them to miss completely and hit the roof around them.

"Huh?" Had Agatha had, eyebrows they would be narrowing in confusion. How did her attack miss?

As she pondered on that, Miata kept on pursuing Galatea with sheer determination. She was so focused on her that the little girl didn't even seem to realise there was a much bigger threat to them right there watching them.

The girl didn't even seem to realize she was starting to get sore all over her body, as she kept up her pursuit of Galatea.

"An interesting trick," Agatha mocking said to Galatea after realizing how she missed her previous attack. The woman took control of her yoki briefly and made her change its trajectory; but now that she knows… "but it won't work a second time."

Galatea grunted in pain, and dodged yet another attack from Miata who brought her claymore down onto the tower she had been on top of, shattering it into several chunks. The former Number 3 herself landed on the roof opposite the girl.

"What's wrong?" Agatha questioned with a mocking smile, "It looks like your predictions were a bit off…"

"Oh boy…" Galatea winced, and took a brief glance at her left shoulder… where her arm use to be. "...things just don't go as well as one thinks…" nevertheless, despite the less than ideal situation she was in, the woman still had a smile on her face, and acted as if there was nothing wrong at all.

Clarice started to sweat nervously. This… was pretty bad.

"Oi! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sid snapped, scaring the living daylights out of the poor woman, "Weren't you going to cooperate to defeat that monster?!"

Clarice nervously swallowed the lump in her throat. "W...we...are here by the order of the Organization. The extermination of an Awakened Being is not part of those orders. Our priority here is, th-the execution of Galatea."

Sid and Galk could only gawk at the mudhead's answer and Miata dashed forth to try and kill Galatea.

Then to make the day even _more_ grim, it started to rain. It was light at first, then the drops of water before more and more until it became a heavy rainfall.

There was a resounding clang as Galatea and Miata's swords clashed. The former managed to deflect the latter's blows despite only having one arm left and the both of them evaded Agatha's tentacles as she tried to take advantage of the situation whenever she got the opportunity.

A narrow-eyed Galatea bared her teeth as she went to block Miata's attack. Their swords clashed and Galatea found it hard to concentrate between evading Agatha's tentacles and blocking Miata's attacks. Both girl and woman jumped up to avoid Agatha's tentacles once more, the extra limbs shattering the roof they were on upon collision. The Number 4 landed in a crouch on the ledge of a roof, just under the window, before pushing up towards Galatea who was still in the middle of falling. The sheer force behind her leap had caused the part of the wall Miata had been crouching on to shatter.

Galatea sensed Miata making a beeline for her… and she could sense Agatha's tentacles coming for her from behind. She could dodge, use the girl as a platform and get away from the tentacles but leaving the girl to take the hit. Or… she can use herself as a shield to protect the little girl from being skewered by Agatha's tentacles.

The answer for Galatea was obvious. This was going to hurt, a lot!

"Shi-"

Her curse was cut off when she was stabbed through the stomach and out the back by Miata's sword, and into the back by no more than three tentacles.

"NGH!" She let out a cry of pain before bringing out more yoki to increase her strength. She kicked Miata away before slicing the tendrils stabbing into her into several pieces with a flourish. She landed on yet another roof and was, by this point, panting heavily and bleeding profusely from no less than four different injuries.

"I thought you were supposed to be a superior defense-type soldier…?" Agatha observed the blood flowing from Galatea's wounds and onto the roof tiles. With the rain pelting her dress, it was like a small river of blood was flowing from the injured woman. "But even you have your limits I see. Why not admit your defeat? I mean, it's painful even for me to watch that pathetic figure of yours struggling to survive." Galatea didn't say anything, right now, the woman was trying her damn best to stand on her own two feet… and if this woman wanted to monologue and give her time to rest then she's all for it!

Of course, Agatha did continue. "I just don't get it. For what are you fighting for? Just what possessed you to take this ridiculous risk of hoping that the other soldiers who were sent to kill you, would turn around and cooperate? From my point of view, I never imagined you to be the naive type to sling to such wild delusions."

Galatea closed her eyes and chuckled tiredly, "Well, it's not like I didn't see this coming." she admitted, "It's just that I didn't have any other options but to place my bet that it might work, no matter how small the chances." she opened her eyes again and stared at Agatha with her blind eyes, "I doubt you'll find my incentive appealing. I just want to protect this city and all those who live in it. It's as simple as that."

"Are you serious?" Agatha's tone was almost in disbelief, "That reason's almost pathetic enough to make me laugh."

"Really? You too? I thought the same way." Galatea joked; after everything she's been through so far, she needed to find humour in something. Even if it's at her own expense. Then she smiled a genuine smile. "But, strangely enough, it's not all that bad. You should give it a try yourself sometime."

Unimpressed by Galatea's conviction and reason, Agatha merely let out a disgruntled scoff, "Hmph…"

Galatea sensed Miata moving again and she turned to block her attack once more. The two of them were once again knocked off the roof and onto another one as they danced around one another.

On the ground, a shaking Clarice could do nothing but watch helplessly as her charge kept up her pursuit of attacking Galatea while the Awakened Being herself tried to kill them both.

" _Yeah… this is… this is the right thing to do…"_ The brunette thought to herself, though she sounded very unsure of this herself. _"We don't stand a chance against the awakened form of the former Number 2. I have no reason to put Miata in danger like that. For right now, we've got to finish our mission as soon as possible. Then if we report the situation to the Organization, then surely..."_

The 'mudhead' knew this was wrong, that this wasn't right, but a job was a job… no one can blame them for that, can they?

The woman was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Galk yell, "MOVE! YOU'RE IN THE WAY!"

Clarice looked over her shoulder and was shocked to see several platoons assembled behind her! How come she didn't hear them- oh, wait, it was because she was so focused on the three-way fight between the former Number 3, Number 2 and the current Number 4 that she had not noticed them.

Galk turned to face the soldiers behind him and bellowed, "SPEARMEN! FIRST SQUADRON STAND READY! SECOND AND THIRD SQUADS, PREPARE TO ATTACK!"

"Wh.. what?" Clarice gasped, looking utterly horrified. "There's nothing you can do! No matter how hard you try, you can't damage her! Just run!"

"Not an option," Galk replied, turning to address her. "We will do everything we can to stop that thing. If you're not going to fight then stand back!"

"Wha...!?" Clarice looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Them, going up against an Awakened Being?! That was insane!

"Hurry! There's no time!" the brunette turned her attention when she heard Sid yelling out commands to a group of soldiers that were removing their plate armour. "Take off all your armour! Lighten your load as best you can!"

Clarice was taken aback by that. Just what were they planning to do? Seeing as she was beside someone who looks to be in command of the entire platoons here Clarice turned to Galk.

"E-excuse me," Galk turned to her prompting the brunette to ask, "what are you doing?

"We're going to launch an attack from behind after the spearmen attack. We're going to try and aim for her head, just like before." The scarred man replied.

"What?!" Clarice looked even more horrified to learn they were going to try it again. "But it didn't work!" she protested; she didn't want them to die needlessly, why won't he listen to her?! There is nothing they can do!

"This time we'll try several men at once. Because her attention will be drawn to the attacking squadrons, we'll have a chance to attack her then." Galk looked at the Awakened Being with a determined frown. "If this attack, with our timing, is just right then our chances of success will be just a bit higher than last time."

"N-No way…!" the wide-eyed, open-mouthed Clarice really could not keep her surprise and shock suppressed if her life depended on it, "You're going all out with no hope for survival?!"

"Didn't I just tell you?" Galk questioned rhetorically, "We will do everything we can. This is our only option in the first place." Clarice watched on in astonishment at the man's bravery in the face of death, even as he turned to address Sis, "Are the men in position?"

"Yeah, they're scattered," the blond replied before he slowly brought up his right arm, "If only my wasn't injured… shit!" He wanted to help! He had a bone to pick with that bitch! But with her almost breaking his right arm in three places, Sid knew he wouldn't be of much help.

"THE ASSAULT SQUAD WILL ATTACK FROM BEHIND ON OUR MARK! READY YOUR WEAPONS!" Galk roared with a swipe of his arm.

"3!" All spear squads raised their spears.

"2!" They all took aim at Agatha and prepared to throw their projectiles at her.

"1!" They reared back their arms.

"W-wait!" Clarice tried to stop them from making the last mistake they would ever make. Unfortunately for the Number 47 she went completely ignored.

"FIRE!" Galk roared, and as one the assault squad threw their spears at Agatha to the horror of Clarice, who could only watch on helplessly as the projectiles sailed through the air.

As for the Awakened One in question, she frowned with both contempt and boredom upon hearing the many projectiles sailing through the air towards her. She scoffed and partially closed her eyes, "They just don't know when to quit, do they? I don't have time to play with you right now."

As Agatha put a hand on her hip, the platform seemed to bulge out, before several tendrils shot out and intercepted the spears that were thrown at her. Many of the guards below, including Clarice could only watch on as the projectiles were turned around until the tips were facing them.

She grinned down at them maliciously, "It's useless no matter how hard you try. Allow me to return them-"

The woman was interrupted when she felt a blade slicing through her neck. Her now headless body fell to its knees before falling on its side.

A very alarmed Galatea quickly looked in their direction as she cried out, "NO! THAT'S THE WRONG TARGET!" unfortunately the woman had her hands full with Miata, who was beginning to get slower. The blind woman didn't notice it yet, however, due to the sheer amount of chaos going on.

Clarice furrowed her brow in confusion as she looked up. What was Galatea talking about…?

As for the unarmoured guards on the platform who were responsible for the separation of her head, they had a full-eyed view on the fruits of their labour. They were staring at Agatha's severed head in both shock and disbelief.

Agatha was grinning at them. "Gotcha~!" she playfully chirped.

"Wha-"

"RUN FOR IT!" Sid who realized the danger they were in, yelled at the guards with desperation.

All four men were speared through their torsos by an assortment of tendrils before they could react, killing them instantly. An eye-shaking Clarice gasped in both shock and terror at the brutality of their deaths while Sid grit his teeth in both despair of frustration at the deaths of even more good men.

"Damn it!" The ponytailed man cursed.

Then, in a rather grotesque display of regeneration, Agatha began to regrow her entire body from the base of her neck. Her feet grew out first, followed by her legs, then her thighs, hips stomach and hands and shoulders.

"Such a shame. What you people see is just for show. If you wanted to cut this body, then you _really_ should have gone for my hair on my true body below." the woman taunted while she regrew her body; the rain washed off the blood on her fair skin leaving her looking 'good as new'.

Galatea growled and went towards her.

Agatha just looked at the blind woman, as she approached. The brunette had an utterly amused expression on her face, "Oh? You're coming at me? But… you haven't shaken off your little pursuer yet."

Galatea sensed Miata on her left side and she immediately threw herself out of the reach of the girls sword that tried to cleave her in two. A frustrated Miata pursued her, pushing herself off of rooftop after rooftop in her pursuit of the blind woman. The girl was solely focused on taking Galatea's head and was ignoring everything else around her.

"She's such a good girl. So loyal to the Organization's orders." Agatha stated aloud to herself with a coy smile. "It looks like she's getting a little upset and can't see what's around her. She's certainly strong but is a little too inexperienced."

Agatha knew that any experienced warrior worth their salt would have put aside their mission to take on the bigger threat. In this case her. But Miata was ignoring the Awakened One completely and kept mindlessly going after Galatea's head… and the foolish little girl was completely ignoring the attacks she's been sending her way as well.

The Awakened One sent more tendrils to them. Galatea sensed their approach and immediately hopped off the rooftop before they smashed into the tiles. Shattering that part of the roof entirely.

Miata hopped in front of her and the older woman blocked the girl's sword with her own. And, as she began to deflect and block the girl's strikes easily, that was when she noticed someone alarming.

" _What? Her power and speed are dropping?"_ Galatea narrowed her eyes in confusion and focused her yoki sensing a bit more. Her eyes narrowed even more. Why could she feel pain emitting from this girl? She didn't sense that earlier… something was definitely wrong, here.

Unfortunately, the girl wouldn't listen to her any time soon. Which means there was one person this girl would likely listen to. And she was down below watching the four-way battle take place.

"Hey! Brunette!" Galatea called out to Clarice, startling the woman below, "Take a look at your partner's body! What's going on?"

Clarice narrowed her eyes in confusion, "Going on…? What do you…" she took a closer look at Miata and gasped in both fear and horror at what she saw, "MIATA! STOP IT AT ONCE!" She cried out.

Almost immediately Miata's feet touched the damp tiles of yet another roof, and slid to a halt. She didn't pursue Galatea, but now that Miata was not pursuing Galatea the little girl was feeling sore all over.

"Mama… Mama…" Miata groaned softly in pain.

"I…" Clarice swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, "I don't believe it."

Miata had wounds on her body. Her uniform was torn in some places, showing light scratches. Then there were the gashes, where blood was running freely, and finally some missing chunks were missing from her body.

The girl was in obvious pain, she was shaking in place and had a pained frown. But despite that she didn't cry or show any other visible sign of discomfort. The girl had a huge pain threshold that's the damn sure.

"Mama… Mama… my body hurts, all over…" she groaned; the poor girl sounded utterly lost and confused. Why did she hurt all over?

"Miata… why…" Clarice couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence. How on Earth did someone so far stronger than her sustain that much damage! It couldn't have been from Galatea since the woman was purely on defense and Agatha was more focused on Galatea herself…

The blind woman however, thought otherwise as she turned her 'gaze' to the former Number 2 in question. "Agatha… it was you, wasn't it?" she questioned, despite already knowing the answer.

"What? I started easy on her!" The woman exclaimed, outright confirming Galatea's suspicions. "Just some light scratches, and when she got used to the pain I just upped the damage little by little. Her makeout took a bit of a workout, let me tell you!" The Awakened One was amused and couldn't help herself, "It was pretty easy to do as well. While the little one was focused on you, and you were focused on her, I merely sent my hair to inflict some damage… she didn't even pay attention to them, even when she felt them cut into her. Even the ones I sent to you got in a few hits!"

Galatea growled in disgust at the woman's callousness.

Miata was still feeling the effects of Agatha's attacks and was still confused and utterly lost. "It hurts… it hurts mama…"

And as for Clarice, she couldn't keep off the look of pure unadulterated fear from her face. Her eyes wide and teeth bared, she was inhaling and exhaling shakingly. They… they had no chance here. They were outmatched.

"What do you think?" Agatha asked with a sadistic, half-lidded, look on her face, "Isn't she a work of art?"

The look on her face promised pain. A _lot_ of it.


	29. Chapter 27

Miata was not in good shape. The girl cut in many places and missing chunks of her body. The rain was washing the blood from her, but the little girl was a trooper.

"It hurts… it hurts mama…"

Despite being in a large amount of pain she wasn't crying out. She just maintained her tiny, childlike tone as she kept her gaze on Galatea.

As for Clarice, she was still looking at Miata with her eyes wide in disbelief. There was no way. There was just _no way_ Miata can get hurt like that! How can someone, who is so much stronger than herself, get hurt to that degree?! How could she not notice!?

"Tch…" A bloodied, and single-armed Galatea narrowed her eyes at Agatha with disgust and contempt. This situation was… less than ideal. If this kept up, then no one was getting out of here alive! If only that little girl who was so determined to take her head wasn't ignoring the much bigger threat!

Agatha put a hand on her hip and let out a bored sigh. "I did tell myself I would defeat you without using that… but I just hate wasting effort in a fight." her malicious smile grew a bit more, "So, it's time to end it all." she declared with sadism and bloodlust in her voice.

Many tendrils made from her 'hair' shot out of the platform Agatha's fake body was standing on, and curved around and made their way to Miata, Galatea, and the guards below. Miata and Galatea sensed the danger and were quick to leap off of the roofs they were standing atop of.

As for the guards below…

"DEFENSE TEAM, GO!" Galk barked.

The guards quickly formed a shield wall to protect themselves against the tendrils heading their way… only for some of them to rip right through the metal, round shields and through the armoured the men behind them like wet toilet paper.

Clarice looked in their direction with horrified eyes, "That isn't going to work! Everyone, please run!" she yelled desperately at them. She looked up, gasped and jumped out of the path of other hair-like tentacles with a very terrified scream. The ground where she was once standing on shattered when they impacted.

"Mama…?" Hearing Clarice scream Miata finally looked away from Galatea and saw her mama in trouble. She quickly followed the tendrils to Agatha, the Awakened Being, and bared her teeth angrily. No one hurts her mama!

The little girl broke away from her pursuit of Galatea and headed straight towards Agatha with the intent on murdering her for hurting Clarice. No one hurts mama! No one! No one, no one, no one!

"Oh-ho-ho?" Agatha had an amused smirk on her face as she watched the Number 4 hopping towards her from rooftop to rooftop with murderous intent, "Finally noticed me, have you? And, here, I thought you can't see me… but it seems you're a _little too late._ "

The Awakened One sent more of her 'hair-tentacles' Miata's way. Many of them dented the little girl's spaulders, protecting her shoulders from getting damaged; her cape was unlucky, many a hair-tentacle pierced through it like paper. Her skirt-like fauld armour was dented when the tendrils collided against the metal plates.

The girl let out a vicious growl, and with her teeth gritted, she grabbed many of the hair-like extensions with one hand, and after dropping her claymore to the ground of the tower she landed on, she used her free hand to gain a better hold on them, and braced herself on the wall on the opposite end of the tower and _pulled_.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Miata screamed with all her might, pain and determination as she pulled on the hair-like tendrils.

"Oh-ho… for _real_?" Agatha didn't know if she should be impressed or exasperated at the girl's attempt to pull her real body. Her arms, particularly her wrists, were missing large chunks of skin. The Awakened One knew if the girl were to exert a significant amount of effort into her badly damaged arms like she was doing now, then they would get strained and eventually sever.

And from the looks of it, this girl _was_ dumb enough to go that far. Agatha's fake body stumbled forward when the girl _actually_ knocked her awakened body off balance.

"Oh… she _actually_ …?" Agatha cut herself off to chuckle. Well, _that_ was a surprise; the little girl had enough strength in her damaged arms to pull her real body off balance. But the woman could see more blood streaming from the gaping holes in them; the naked brunette could clearly see there was a lot of strain being put on them and that the little girl was close to losing them, "This child, who exactly do you think you are?"

Agatha sent more of her sharp tentacles Miata's way. Because the girl was busy pulling at the offensive objects in her hands, she was unable to avoid the others. As a result, she was stabbed in the upper arms and on her side.

"Gh… Ngh… Gh…!" The little girl whimpered from the sharp pain in her sides but soldiered through it.

"MIATA!" She heard Mama cry out with distraught. Clarice was looking up at her, horrified and utterly afraid.

The young girl bared her teeth and with a growl, she tightened her grip on the hair-tendrils and pulled again. Miata let out a loud, strenuous scream as she pulled at Agatha's extensions with all of her might, "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Unfortunately, the amount of effort was too much for Miata's already wounded arms to handle. The girl was stunned when she felt a sharp pain in her forearms… before they were torn off with a gush of blood.

An open, eyed, open-mouthed Clarice gasped with horror!

"Eh…?" Miata looked at her bloody stumps for arms with confusion, "...Mama… my hands got cut off…"

Then she was stabbed in the back many times by Agatha's extra appendages when they curved around. Miata was then pushed _through_ the wall, and pinned to the ground of the tower.

"Hn. Made me sweat a little," a smiling Agatha said in a nonchalant manner. "Luckily I harmed that child a little beforehand; fighting two opponents at once is definitely a pain." Then the brunette's eyes darted to the left, "Speaking of…"

More of her hair that made of her platform shot out and ran Galatea through when she tried to attack her from behind. The blind woman coughed up blood as she was slammed, and pinned into a wall. Galatea was close-eyed; motionless; bloodied; but nonetheless alive.

"What a pity… if only it went the way you planned then everyone would be fine." The woman's tone was mocking, soft, and whimsical as she stared at the motionless, one-armed form of Galatea she had pinned to the wall.

Clarice could only watch on in both disbelief and terror as her charge _and_ Galatea were both defeated. Agatha did it so seamlessly, so _effortlessly_ , that Clarice was utterly terrified and baffled.

Clarice took a step back, her hand clutching the grip of her claymore until her knuckles hurt. "How… how did it become like this? Miata, and even Galatea, both of them were defeated…" The brunette was shaking, her tears mixed with the rain as her eyes darted from the tower Miata was on, to the wall Galatea was pinned to. "How can I alone take on a former Number 2?" She whimpered pitifully, with wide fearful eyes and clattering teeth.

She wouldn't be able to. There was no way on absolute hell she would be able to! Miata and Galatea are so much stronger than her. The latter had more experience! And yet, despite that, they were defeated… So what chance did _she_ have?! There was no hope for her! No hope! No hope! No hope!

Agatha perked up and looked down to see a heavily distraught Clarice. "Oh! My bad, I forgot about you!"

The woman in question flinched.

"Don't worry," Agatha continued. "I'll give you the same treatment I gave those two." Then, her tone and expression became more menacing. "You will die like those two, with your body full of holes."

She blinked when the sound of projectiles cutting through air reached her, and Agatha donned a bored look when she sent more of her hair-tendrils out to intercept them. All of them were stopped.

"Ara? And just who is responsible, for that?" The naked brunette sounded almost amused if grossly exaggerated at having been interrupted, yet again. Even Clarice, despite having terror welling up within her, was surprised by the interruption.

"Take a look to your left!" Clarice felt her eyes grow wide when a familiar voice reached her ears, and for the first time since Agatha revealed herself, the brunette felt hope rising in her chest.

Agatha did just that and had she had an eyebrow, it would have been raised with interest, "Oh? And who are you?"

The person she was looking at was garbed in a hooded cloak that was partially covering his face. But the front was parted enough to show the dark orange, breastplate underneath. Clarice recognised him. He was the one who saved her, Nina, Elise, and Camilla after all.

The young man looked from the motionless Galatea the Awakened Being was pinning to the wall, to the little girl who was pinned to the floor of the tower she was on. Her arms were regrowing too.

Then he brought his gaze back to Agatha. "My real name isn't important, but if you want to call me something I suppose my moniker will do: I am The Youma Hunter."

"Oh, ho, ho~! Really, now?" That was either a ballsy bluff or this was a one in a million chance encounter. Either way, Agatha was _very_ interested. "I've heard many things about someone by that name… most notably that he died in Alphonse." Agatha giggled, plopping down onto her platform, and lacing her fingers under her chin enticingly. "Sooo… What brings you here, I wonder?"

"I sensed trouble brewing here, and I came to investigate." Naruto answered, "And as for me dying in Alphonse? When you've been hiding away for seven years, with no outside activity, people do tend to think you're dead."

On the ground, a still shaking Clarice was staring up at them with confusion showing on her pretty face. Why wasn't he engaging her in battle? Suddenly, she stiffened in surprise when a gloved hand covered her mouth and almost immediately she started struggling frantically.

"Easy there, cutie, I don't wanna accidentally hurt you." Clarice inhaled sharply when she heard Naruto's voice whispering into her ear. She stopped her struggling and slowly turned to look at him.

How was he… Was the Youma Hunter actually a pair of twins…?

The hooded blond seemed to know what she was thinking and thus he explained, "I'm a physical copy. A clone. The one distracting that Awakened One is the real one." then he uncovered her mouth and really looked at her. "You're scared."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Her body language was as clear as day. She was terrified.

And just like that, the floodgates had been opened. Clarice frantically reached into the cloak and grabbed Naruto's forearms. "I… I can't fight her… there's no way I can fight her…" she whimpered, the poor woman looked as if she was ready to bolt on out of there as fast as she can.

She would have done so had he not shown up at that exact moment.

"M-Miata… even Galatea… they weren't able to beat her and they're so much stronger than I am! How can I alone defeat a former Number 2?!"

"You don't have to," the clone replied, reassuringly holding onto Clarice's hands. "Let the Boss deal with her." Then, he looked to the tower Miata was pinned on and frowned, "What you can do however is get Miata free."

"Wha-what?! You can't be serious! Agatha will kill me the moment I try!"

"You're stronger than you think," the clone told Clarice with so much belief it legitimately took her off guard. "You're still a warrior, and while you might not be as strong as the others, you're _way_ stronger and faster than normal humans, that's for damn sure. Besides, I'm not telling you to fight Agatha - I'm telling you to cut Miata free."

Clarice took a deep, calming breath, reigning in her emotions as best she could. "R-right… sorry." She looked up at her 'daughter' and frowned. She knew Miata needed help. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was her duty, both as her caretaker and… as her mama.

"You have nothing to apologise for." the clone looked between the brunette and the tower, "If you want, I can go with you? As a clone, I'm more expendable, and I know the Boss isn't going to underestimate her."

He learned his lesson from Rigardo the Silver-Eyed Lion King. This time the Boss made a few clones to gather Sage Chakra for him to use in case things go sideways. The other 17 are coming in as reinforcements and thanks to them not using their yoki for the past 7 years, they were practically invisible to any sensors.

As for Elda, Riful, and Luciela they were staying well away from Rabona. Being Awakened Beings, Creatures of the Abyss in the cases of Riful and Luciela, Naruto was worried they wouldn't be able to help themselves when being surrounded by hundreds of potential meals. So, a few clones brought them to a nearby bandit camp to keep the women occupied.

"That… would be preferable." Yes, for her that would be very, very nice. Clarice wasn't all that confident in her own abilities being pitted against Agatha. But if she had the clone with her then… yeah… she can most certainly try. Steeling herself, Clarice prepared to do just that as she gave the clone a nod. "Alright," she said, "let's go!"

The clone nodded back and gave his reply. "Lead the way, cutie," he urged, gesturing for Clarice to take the lead. As he followed the brunette, the clone added, "Also, there's another clone that's going to check on Galatea. So we're going to have to be very careful when we're freeing Miata."

"G-Got it," Clarice replied with a shaky nod.

Meanwhile, with the clone in question, he was sneaking his way to the pinned, one-armed woman herself via-la-wall walking. He was putting his sneaking skills to good use while he was at it. Then he started checking over Galatea herself when he got to her. One tentacle pinning her shoulder, pinning her upper and lower arms, one on her abdomen, two on her thighs and a final one on her knee.

Luckily, Galatea was still alive as she slowly opened her eyes upon feeling his presence.

"You've blinded yourself, huh," the clone said, and he would have chuckled at the surprised look she sent him.

"You're... really here?" The woman asked, genuinely surprised at hearing the distinctly familiar voice. The pitch of his voice was… different from what she remembers, but she still recognised him. "I thought you perished in Alphonse?"

"Obviously not," he joked, "There are other survivors. 15 of them in fact. Eva and Lucia, the former Numbers 7 and 12, are alive too. All 17 of them are lying in wait."

"Really?" Galatea furrowed her pale blonde eyebrows, "I can't sense them."

"Seven years of suppressing their yoki makes it very difficult for sensors to locate them." the clone told her in reassurance, "They're practically invisible, now. But they're here."

"Then… what are you waiting for?" Why isn't he doing something right now?

The clone looked to the tower where Miata was, "Waiting for the pretty colourhead to get to that little girl and cut her loose." he answered, before looking back to the blind woman, "That way, I can cut you free at the same time. Luckily, the Boss is distracting that other brunette pinning you down. She won't realize what's happening until it's too late."

"I see… you're, ack…" Galatea tightly closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and ease the pain flaring all over her body, "you're using Agatha's distraction to your advantage- wait… 'Boss'?" she questioned him, upon having that word finally register in her head.

"Oh, right, you don't know. I'm a clone. A physical copy of the original Naruto. Just trust in me and the Boss and we'll get you out of this in no time." the clone carefully placed his hand on Galatea's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly, "We'll get your arm regrown and your other injuries healed. Just keep quiet for a bit and let the Boss work his magic, okay?"

Galatea exhaled and slowly nodded with acceptance, "Alright." she replied; just, keep quiet, huh? Yeah. She can do that. Not that she can do much else.

Clarice, meanwhile, jumped from wall to wall up to Miata with the clone running up along it. Her heart broke at the desperation in the Number 4's eyes when said girl saw her.

"Mama!" Miata cried out, reaching out to Clarice with her broken, but regenerating hand. The girl's tears was mixing with the rain. "It hurts so much! Please, help me mama!"

"SHIT!" The clone quickly wrapped an arm around Clarice, and pulled a startled cry out of the brunette when he dashed forward. He quickly pulled out one of his trench knives and sliced the tendrils pinning Miata down apart, then went to grab Miata and hopped off the tower with both passengers. Not a moment later, the tower was assaulted with even more tendrils curtsy of Agatha.

The woman heard Miata crying out and tried to silence the little girl.

At the same time, the clone who was with Galatea quickly cut her loose and leapt away with the one-armed woman in his arms before the Awakened One could try and kill her. Just in time too, as more tendrils were sent her way, piercing and shattering the brick wall she was once pinned to.

"Oh?" Agatha didn't look too alarmed upon seeing Galatea and Miata being taken away. She looked more amused than anything, "You used a distraction to get them out of danger? A fair attempt, but ultimately useless."

"Maybe so," The original replied, then he brought his fist into his palm, "I'll give you one chance here, pretty lady: leave this city, or else," he told her firmly, and clearly.

Agatha giggled at that. She was thoroughly amused by him. "I must say, I like a man with a good pair of balls on him," she cooed. "It would be such a shame to end a man like you, so how about this: you evade my tentacles for an hour and I will not only leave but give you a good time before I do."

Further back a shadow clone who had been gathering Sage Chakra dispelled himself. The real Naruto remained completely still as he evenly mixed the nature chakra with his own. Once the pigmentation was around his eyes, the hooded blond allowed himself to move again.

"I have a _much_ better idea," he countered, walking to the edge of the rooftop he was standing on… before leaning down and grabbing onto the crab-like leg that was embedded onto the building, and surprised Agatha immensely by disconnecting the other crab-like legs though lifting her entire platform up into the air spun around and tossed her _clear_ out of the city limits.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Agatha's screams as she sailed through the air, away from the Holy City of Rabona was a sight to behold.

Naruto allowed the Sage Chakra in his body be reclaimed by nature before making a single shadow clone. The hooded blond turned to look at him, "You know what to do."

The clone wordlessly nodded and followed after Agatha. As the clone leapt off after the former Number 2, who was still sailing through the air and is _way_ past the city walls, the original went to check on Miata, Clarice, and Galatea who have converged together. The other 17 are probably coming out of the metaphorical woodworks to join up as well, now that Agatha is no longer a problem.

"How are they?" Naruto asked once he got up to them. Miata and Clarice were hugging each other, and both were crying. The former had the tentacles yanked out of her. Galatea looked worse for wear, with her missing arm and holes in her body and was sitting on the ground with an arm around the clone that was beside her.

"Galatea's messed up, but she'll live." the clone beside the woman in question answered.

As for the clone beside Miata and Clarice, he ruffled the little girl's head and said, "The pretty brunette and Miata are fine. Though the little one is still regenerating her hands. She's taken quite a beating but is still moving."

"Really, now?" the original looked at Miata with a smile, "She's pretty strong for a little kid,"

"Wha… what happened to the former Number 2?" Clarice shakenly asked.

"Threw her naked ass out of the city… literally at that." The original replied, "the others should be here any minute now."

"O-others?" Clarice asked, looking up at Naruto with both confusion and curiosity. There were others?

"I lied when I said there were no other survivors from Pieta," Naruto admitted, much to Clarice's shock, "In truth, there's well over 10 of them. There are some good healers. They'll fix you right up."

"O-okay," The brunette replied with uncertainty. She could understand where he was coming from since the survivors didn't rejoin the ranks of the Organization they would have been hunted down… like Galatea. Yeah, she definitely understood.

"Over 10?" Galatea let out a pained chuckle at that, "Well, Phantom Miria was well known for having contingencies and planning ahead. I suppose she had a plan to get as many people through that suicide mission, then?"

"You supposed correct," Naruto confirmed, "Though they had some help. My mentor was there and while I did cripple Isley of the North's second in command, he was the one that dealt the killing blow. He hasn't been seen sense."

"How many of them are there in total?"

"Why don't you look for yourself?" Miria announced, prompting Galatea, Miata, and Clarice to look in the direction they heard her. There, standing upon the rooftops were no less than 17 warriors, dressed in black with brown, hooded cloaks.

"Seventeen… out of the 24 claymore's that took part in the Northern War, there's 17 remaining." Clarice said with wide eyes.

"...They're strong." Miata muttered, causing Clarice to look between the large group of women above them and the little girl in her arms.

"Actually, there are 15 survivors of the so-called 'Northern Campaign'," Naruto, the original one, corrected Clarice, "the other two are Eva and Lucia - the ones who were said to have been killed prior to that." Then he looked towards the girls and called out, "Cynthia! Think you can come down here and heal Galatea and the little girl? They could use some first aid here!"

"On it!" The woman hopped on down and scampered up towards him without a second thought, before checking the girls out. Yeah, she could definitely pull this off! "I'll have them patched right up in no time!"

"Good," Naruto beckoned the other women to come on down and they did so. "I'm going to check if anyone else is hurt. That Awakened One's done a lot of damage, here."

"That won't be necessary." Everyone turned to look at the man who addressed them to see Sid and Galk approaching them. Walking behind them were a couple of guards that aren't injured, and despite Sid and Galk approaching them calmly, they were more cautious and wary looking towards the newcomers.

Sid was the one who talked, "We lost quite a few good men to that thing and many more are injured, but they have a good chance at living with the right care."

"Sid, Galk," Clare said, lowering her hood as she looking at them with recognition.

In response Sid smirked at her, he was obviously happy to see the woman who saved his life is alive and well, and Galk merely gave the woman a respectful nod and a smile of his own.

"Well, I'll be damned! You're still alive. And you haven't changed at all. You look as you did 7 years ago!"

"It's good to see you again, as well, Sid. Despite the circumstances." Clare said, returning their smile with one of her own albeit smaller.

"Naruto, how far is she?" Miria asked.

Naruto didn't say anything for a moment. "She's too far for me to locate, I'll have to go into Sage Mode again if I want to find her. Do you want me to?"

"Please do," the woman replied with a nod.

"Alright. Gimme a moment." Naruto went completely still to the point he seemed like a statue. It honestly surprised the guards at how he went from looking alive to looking like he's dead. After a moment though, Naruto started moving again, "...The Awakened One is several miles to the West and is still going. My clone is still in pursuit."

And that is also in the direction of Elda, Riful, and Luciela.

"After seeing that, I _still_ find it hard to believe you lost to The Silver Eyed Lion King," Helen muttered.

"Underestimation is what makes people lose a fight, Helen." Naruto reminded her. Then he looked towards the sky, "Oh, it stopped raining. Huh. Good timing I think." Naruto blinked and looked to Clarice, "So, _what_ are you doing here anyway…?"

"Ah… well… I…" Clarice swallowed the lump that formed in her throat at being put on the spot like that. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"She's here to kill me," Galatea calmly answered. She sounded completely at peace with herself.

"What? Seriously?" Helen cried out in astonished disbelief. Everyone who wasn't in the know was looking at Clarice, and the girl in her arms in turn, with some measure of surprise and bewilderment. "She's a colour head! There's no way!"

"Just because she's a 'colour head' doesn't mean she's weak." Naruto told the woman. But then he looked to Clarice with the corners of his lips twitching downwards, "What are you going to do?" The clones that got them to safety dispelled themselves by this point.

"If she wants to take my head, then let her," Galatea said.

"What?!" Helen voiced her surprise at that.

But the blind woman merely smiled and looked to Clarice as she said, "I'm really sorry about before. Dragging you and the little girl into this mess. But now that I've done everything that I had set up to do to save this city, my life is now in your hands. Take my head if you wish."

Clarice trembled, conflicted beyond words. On one hand, this was her job, her duty. But on the other… There was a loud crash as the brunette's fist met with the remains of a stone wall. The damage she did was actually quite impressive, despite her being the weakest claymore, the punch she delivered was enough to make a spider crack… and a fist sized dent on the surface.

"Why would you say that? Why can't you… why can't you be a little terrible and make this easy for me, damn it?!" she complained, her tears running freely down her cheeks once more, "Orders from the Organization should be followed. And the one I'm supposed to kill is in front of me… tell me, please, what should I do?" She pleaded for them to guide her. To instruct her. To tell her to do _something_ that should be right.

"Just don't go back," Naruto replied bluntly with a shrug. "If you don't like your orders, then don't carry them out."

"Of course, if you don't kill Galatea and return to the Organization, that's disobeying the Organization's orders. That would be seen as treason and both you and her will probably be killed on the spot. If you said you couldn't find Galatea or that she got away, the Organization would never believe those words. Taking that into consideration, there is only one path for you to take and that's not to return to the Organization." Miria added.

"B-but… if we do that we'll…" Clarice started.

Miria nodded solemnly, "Yes. At that moment you'll become traitors and they'll come after you. If we stay here, the Organization won't come after us. When it's all said and done, this is still the Saint's capital. It's widely known this city discriminates us claymores…"

"That's a temporary solution," Galatea said, "If the Organization wishes to kill us they'll have to completely destroy this town."

"What do you mean by that?" Sid questioned them, legitimately startling everyone since they had forgotten he was there.

Naruto let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head through his cloak, "To make a long story short: if the Organization finds out your housing deserted claymores they're not going to take that lying down. It'll be safer if no one knows they're here. And since no one else knows that they're alive," Naruto gestured to the women behind him.

"I did tell the Elder I had met you in Alphonse," Clarice pipped in, hoping that would help.

"Then it'll be easy to pin everything that's happened here on me."

"Even still, it's only a temporary solution."

"I think so too," Miria agreed full heartedly with Galatea, "But even if it's just temporary, we have to stay."

Galatea furrowed her brow at that. "What?" Why did they all have to stay? What were they- was _she_ planning?

"Everyone in this group is planning on toppling the Organization," Naruto informed Galatea, Miata, and Clarice. "Miria has a pretty good reason for doing so, and everyone is behind her."

"What?! But… the Organization is the one stopping the youma from running rampant! If you try and get rid of the Organization, then who'll stop the youma?" Clarice protested, with a clueless Miata looking between them.

"I have to agree with Clarice," Sid said, who was remarkably calm despite having heard what he had heard. "If you're _actually_ planning on stopping the Organization, then who'll stop the youma?"

"Everyone in our group already knows of this, but, to make another long story short: Miria believes the Organization themselves are making the youma and has been looking for evidence on this." Naruto then looked to the woman in question, "Since you have the most knowledge on this subject Miria, I'll let you do the explanation."

"Very well," The woman cleared her throat, "As Naruto said before, I've been looking for evidence between my missions and I have found a couple of promising sources. One, I found a settlement in the East that is fairly close to the Organization's headquarters. When they saw me for the first time they were shocked. It was as if they had never seen a claymore before. Another thing I found was something we warriors carry: our claymores." she gestured to the one Clarice was holding onto still, "Our swords are a little too sturdy for fighting against youma, don't you think?"

"Hmm…" Galatea frowned thoughtfully at that. "Now that you mention it, our swords are a bit too sturdy for them."

"A broadsword or a longsword can kill them just as effectively," Sid said, unknowingly saying a similar sentence to Zelda when she heard Miria's explanation. Not to mention he saw how easily Claire had killed the youma in the Cathedral 7-years-ago with her very own claymore.

Miria nodded, even though Galatea was unable to see her. "Yes. Our swords are very durable and in all my years as a warrior, not once has my sword gotten damaged or chipped in battle even against Awakened Beings, like the one Naruto had thrown out of Rabona," it took the sandy-brunette everything to not snort in amusement at that. "Not even the edges have been damaged in the slightest. Even when they're used as grave markers for the fallen warriors, they never lost their cutting power. I've searched this land high and low for the material that was used to create our swords and neither of the ones I've found were as strong as the one that made them. The Organization has been making them since the very beginning, during the time of the Lost Generation when there hadn't _been_ Awakened Beings to worry about. It's like they were _made_ for fighting them. Or others..."

"Hm? Others?" That's new… Naruto wasn't completely sure, but he could've sworn those last two words weren't there before.

"Yes, Naruto, others. I came to the conclusion that our claymores aren't made on this island. It might not even be made from here."

"Woah, what! Miria what are you saying? That our swords aren't made from This World?" Zelda asked in puzzlement.

"Yeah! What the flying hell big sis?!" Helen said, throwing her arms up and down, and knocking her hood down from covering her head. "Are you telling us there's land beyond This World?!" If that was true then how come she didn't tell them back when Riful and Luciela joined them?!

"Yes. And if you think about it that is also how the Organization handles their intel." the sandy-brunette replied, "They make us believe that This World consists of only this island. For many, many years, decades even - maybe longer than that, there had been numerous ships that had left port in search of new lands but they would always come back empty handed. That's how we've come to the conclusion that no other lands exist outside of this one on This World."

"Isolation," Naruto chimed in, "If the Organization is in control of all the shipyards and what gets in and out… that can easily translate to information. And there aren't a lot of shipyards around, are there?"

"No." Miria shook her head. "There aren't. And the Organization is in control of the biggest one and a small, but heavily armoured navy. That gives them total control over the ocean around the island. However, this island being the only one in This World is not the case. There is an even greater island beyond this one on This World."

That got Naruto's, hell, _everyone's_ attention.

"But those lands… are definitely not in a state of peace. There are never ending battles going on between different countries and people, all for territorial reasons. About a hundred years ago, the war split into two sides and began the battle for supremacy." Miria took a deep breath to prepare herself for the bomb she was about to drop on her friends, "On one side can be considered as the Dragon's Kin. They're said to have non-human comrades with extremely tough skin and they quickly took control of the battle. The other side quickly tried to invent new weapons to fight against their enemies. Soon after, their research gave birth to a new weapon, and that weapon is… a weapon that allows a human to turn into a monster."

"Wha…" Sid and Galk were quickly able to connect the dots. The claymores were weapons that allowed humans to turn into monsters. That wasn't as surprising as they thought it would be.

They already _knew_ they were made with the flesh of youma, and would eventually turn into one if they used yoki too much. But what was surprising was that they were _weapons_ to be used in a war… and from the sounds of it the very island they're on is used as one huge experiment for their weapons.

The other women were shocked as well; the ones who still had their cloaks on were seen with their mouths partially open. Helen and Clare were both staring at Miria with wide eyes and had their mouths partially open as well.

"But because these weapons are too powerful they often wiped out their own army. So the research has been left on a small island away from the greater land." Miria continued.

"You're kidding! You're saying that this island is…" Helen trailed off with pure, genuine disbelief and shock on her face.

"That's right. This island is a laboratory for Awakened Beings." Miria confirmed.

When Miria dropped that bombshell on everyone it got Naruto thinking. And it got him comparing claymores to… "Jinchuuriki…" the hooded blond muttered aloud, with a lot of disgust and loathing in his voice. Not for the women but for the people that made them the way they are. In this case, the Organization.

"Naruto…?" Flora looked at her boyfriend with concern. She knew what that word meant, what it symbolised… and after what she heard Miria say it wasn't hard to draw comparisons between them. The others on the other hand have never heard of that word before.

"Jinchuri-what-now?" Helen tacklessly asked with an utterly clueless look on her face.

"Jinchuuriki… the 'Power of Human Sacrifice'. Basically humans that have the ability to turn into a 'monster' or 'demon'. Best case for a Jinchuuriki is they're treated as protectors and guardians. The worse case: they have people trying to kill them or to turn them into mindless weapons to use on their enemies."

"They are used as weapons of war?" Miria asked. It sounded very much like it in her mind.

"Oh, yeah." Naruto growled out, he was clearly upset though the blond was doing a good job holding it in, "They're also used as war deterrents. Since one of them is strong enough to flatten an entire mountain and then some. There's always nine of us too. No more, no less. Though there are _some_ exceptions to the rule."

Flora hurried to her man's side, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"...'Us'...? You're one of them?" One of the hooded women asked, having picked up on that little slip. The hooded blond winced and mentally cursed himself for that.

"... _'Was'_ I _was_ one of them." Naruto made sure to emphasise that one word, lest any of them get any wrong ideas, like 'why he didn't use any of his awesome power back in Pieta', "I'm not one anymore. As I said: there are some exceptions to the rule."

"What kind of exceptions?" Miria asked.

"...In order to become a jinchuuriki, you need to have a Tailed Beast - as they're known back home - sealed into you." Naruto started, and leaned against Flora's touch. "It's a similar, but very different process to how claymores are made, excluding the whole 'cutting open and surgically implanting youma flesh inside of you'. Some people have a Tailed Beast put inside of them when they babies, just out of the womb, others wait until they're around their 7th or 8th cycle before they have one put inside of them. Unfortunately…extracting a Tailed Beast from a Jinchuuriki is deadly and will ultimately kill them. But a former host can live through the extraction if there's enough energy left inside of them."

"You're a former host I take it, then?" Natalie questioned him.

"Yes. And I have the remnant energy of the tailed beast inside of me, locked away tight. It's usable, but it's also the only thing that is keeping me alive right now. It's non-replenishable. Once it's used up, that's it. I'm dead."

"What… differences are there between a warrior and a Jin-chr-riki?" Miria slowly asked and she was pretty sure that last word was butchered by her.

"Jin-chuu-riki." Naruto patently corrected, "The differences are this: a Jinchuuriki are not cut open. The Tailed Beasts are alive when they're put inside of us. We can bring out their energy to use, and very similar to you, the more we bring out the more… 'monstrous' we become." he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, with tired exasperation, "The Tailed Beast is working against you pretty much every step of the way. The more power that is brought out the more aggressive the Jinchuuriki becomes right until they go berserk and attack anything in sight, friend or foe. It's kinda similar to awakening you ladies go through, only we're able to return to normal. And until you're able to beat the Tailed Beast in battle for the right to use their energy, if you go full on Tailed Beast they'll try and break free. Which ends up in the death of the Jinchuuriki."

"Just curious… were you ever trained to hone this power?" a deeply curious Galatea asked.

"At first… no. I didn't even _know_ I was one until I was 13-years-old. It was kept secret from me. I didn't even know how to draw upon it or anything until my very first mission. I tried to learn to use my tenants power during a training trip with my mentor… and it _was_ going well. I remember him loosening the seal that my tailed beast was stuck behind so that I could use more of its power… everything went black after that. I later learned I went utterly berserk when I brought more of its power out and attacked everything in sight. But Jiraiya somehow forced the power back down. I don't know the details exactly, it was kept very… hush hush. And I didn't question it. I later learned whenever I bring out too much of its power, I go utterly berserk and attacked anyone in sight. Friend or foe." he let out a bitter chuckle at that and crossed his arms.

"It doesn't help the power of a Tailed Beast is powered by the emotions of the host. So if you're pissed off, you can bet your arm the energy will come up in response and make you more aggressive. That first mission I mentioned was also the very first time I tapped into that power." He explained; Naruto was utterly disturbed by it still; disturbed that whenever he brought out too much of Kurama's power he lost control of himself.

"Despite that," Naruto continued, "a Jinchuuriki is still a very valuable military asset. Even one just stepping onto the battlefield can turn the tide of a losing battle. They - _we_ are weapons of war, the deterrents of war. Any nine, is capable of turning this whole city into a hole in the ground. They're that powerful. And because there's nine… there is a Number system between us. Similar to how you ladies are ranked."

"Numbers 1 to 9," Miria chimed in, frowning with a pondering look to her face. "I take it that Number 1 is the strongest and 9 is the weakest?" That made the most sense to her.

"No. In the case of us Jinchuuriki, a Tailed Beast is ranked with how many tails they have. With the One-Tails 1 being the weakest. The Nine-Tails being the strongest. I… was the 9th one. The host to the strongest."

"It's easy to see the comparisons between us." Jean said; now she understood and quite frankly, it disturbed her there are 'weapons' out there that are even more deadly - more _refined_ , than claymores.

"Indeed. To know there are other people like us out there in This World is… disheartening."

"I'm going to need a moment," Naruto informed them, and he made a single shadow clone, "I'll leave him here with you as you keep explaining, Miria. I'll be nearby."

"Alright," Miria was obviously worried for him, as was everyone else. They could tell that bringing up his past was painful for him, yet he did so anyway to clear up any misconceptions that they were sure to have.

When Naruto, the original one, walked off to the side to be by himself, the woman continued with her explanation, "At first, these weapons were dispatched into battle as special soldiers. A group of warriors possessing capabilities that are beyond human. However, these men were only allowed to use their true power if they were to encounter the Dragon's Kin deep behind enemy lines. That power was what we call the release of yoki, and unlike us women it's next to impossible for a man to control. The majority of them went berserk right then and there. An age old conflict that is beyond human comprehension."

Everyone was listening to Miria intently once more. Some with interest. Others, with intrigue. Some, with wide eyes.

"Thanks to those Awakeneds' battle performance, that marked the birth of a new kind of monster, capable of battling the dragons' descendants on equal terms. Needless to say those men were unable to return to being human. Since Awakening caused them to lose their minds, they couldn't continue being soldiers anymore. In fact, they didn't even have the option to return to their army, they were to continue fighting the dragons until their last breath. Obviously had they made it back, it would have been terrible for that military since the Awakened were weapons designed to destroy."

"Like how most Jinchuuriki are used… pricks." the clone of Naruto muttered under his breath.

And many of the women among the group looked utterly distraught, and or utterly pissed off at that. Since they meant they too are experiments of the Organization - one's they wanted to control. Now they wanted to wipe them out even more!

"And that isn't to say that this wasn't without risks." Miria continued after her words settled in, "For example, the soldiers could potentially awaken prematurely, or they might return wounded from battle and turn on their own troops. That is why research was needed, the Organization continued the research here to discover a way to produce Awakened soldiers that can remain under their control."

"Experiments… to remain under control?" Cynthia muttered aloud with an inquisitive, but equally disturbed look on her face. Many of the other women - who had taken off their hoods by now - were looking the same. That sounded _very_ familiar, but for the life of them neither of them seemed to remember why. Not even the clone of Naruto seemed to know why that was familiar.

"Why does that sound familiar…?" Queenie muttered to herself. It was gnawing at her. It was even on the tip of her tongue! But she just can't remember where she heard it!

Galatea, on the other hand, knew what Miria was talking about, and she stood up with a grunt, "Alicia and Beth… they fully Awakened and reverted back to human form."

That was it!

"We've heard of them." Naruto's clone said, "And that's where that sounded familiar."

"Yes, but they were twins, which means this only works in a very special case." Miria said as she crossed her arms with a sigh, "And should the enemy learn that only one of them is required to Awaken, that would be an easy weakness to exploit. Certainly, this was a big step in their research but they are still far from developing a complete deployable soldier."

The other women already knew of Alicia and Beth thanks to Riful informing them and weren't as surprised as they should have been.

Galatea furrowed her brow in surprise. "You're very well informed, how ever did you manage to acquire such information on your own?" she asked the former Number 6; dare she say it this legitimately made her curious.

"I wasn't alone. I had help."

At that, quite a few people looked at Naruto's clone. He blinked in bewilderment under his hood at seeing quite a few eyes on him and he said, "Hey, don't look at me! The Boss had nothing to do with that. He never even _knew_ Miria at that point."

The woman in question chuckled at that. "He's right. Naruto had nothing to do with it. I can't tell you the specifics, but I can assure you that my information is true. I compared everything to what I discovered myself and I found no inconsistencies. And now, you all know everything that I've found out up until now."

And with that the clone Naruto made dispelled himself, prompting the Original to perk up when he received the memories and make his way back to them before coming to a stop beside Flora, Miata, and Clarice.

The latter looked incredibly nervous and emotional again, and it made Naruto frown with concern. "Hey, what's the matter?" he asked getting Clarice's attention.

"I-I-I think I just heard something I shouldn't! I don't know what I should do…" the brunette answered with a shaking lip. The poor thing was shaking so bad it looked like she was about to cry again.

Miata innocently held Clarice's hand in an attempt to comfort her. It worked, to a degree.

"Is there really anything that a blind person like myself can do?" Galatea asked after a moment of contemplation. After everything she's heard, the woman was pretty much willing to throw her lot with Miria's group. But she wasn't sure how useful she would be when it came to actually helping.

"I want you to look after the brunette and the child for us. It's doubtful that the Organization will take action against them right away, but on the off chance that they do, I want you to use your superior sense of yoki to deal with whatever comes." Miria politely instructed, and went on to add her reasoning, "No matter how much the times may change, I don't think there are many who ever reach the level of senses that you have. You should have the upper hand regardless of the situation."

Galatea chuckled as she closed her eyes, "I certainly hope so. Well, I'll take it as a compliment."

Miria smiled at that before letting out a tired sigh, "And now, comes the hard part… Let's go negotiate with the city."

"Galk and I will vouch for you," Sid said with a smile. "It's the least we can do for getting that thing out of here." beside him the scarred man nodded in wholehearted agreement. It _was_ the least they could do for saving the Holy City. And what they just learned won't change how they see these women.

That...was relieving to hear, actually.


	30. Chapter 28

Not long after the rather frightening event with Agatha, Miria along with a few others had gone to the Cathedral in order to negotiate for their stay. Father Vincent, the man who had been beside 'Sister Latea' when Miata and Clarice first showed themselves, was the one the sandy-brunette was talking to.

And with them, vouching for the side of the claymores and Naruto, were Sid and Galk as they said they would. After Clare had saved Sid seven years ago from the youma that had infiltrated the Holy City, the populace had become a lot more tolerant towards the claymores. And after 17 claymores, non-affiliated with the Organization, of course, had come to their rescue… suffice to say, the great Holy City was now willing to change its policy on them.

Suffice to say, Miria didn't _need_ to do much negotiating and in the end, all of them were able to stay in the Holy City for as long as they needed. Sid and Galk were no longer needed and so, they went off to get themselves a much-needed drink in the local pub. But the sandy-brunette, along with her trusty companions, were still in talks.

* * *

In the local pub, not long after, Helen was making every bit as much of a spectacle of herself as her comrades expected after just a few sips. Seriously, the woman held her liquor like a torn sock when she chose not to filter it. She laughed boisterously, riding the buzz with nary a care in the world. "This place is awesome," she shouted, stumbling on up to her friend. "I've never been offered free beer before!" Sliding an arm over Deneve's shoulders, she tried to get the woman to try some. "Plus, it's really good stuff. Here, try some!"

"I have my own mug," her friend pointed out bluntly. Though she didn't show it, Deneve was amused by the woman's antics.

"I never thought a Claymore could get drunk" Cid thought aloud with a hearty chuckle.

"We can filter out alcohol and other toxins at will," Clare stated. "In short, we can control whether or not we get drunk."

"Anyone know where Naruto and Flora got off to?" Queenie asked from the table she was occupying with, Zelda, Natalie, Eva, and Lucia occupying it with her. The woman was casually looking around for them. "I thought they would be here as well."

"They wanted to explore the city the last time I saw them," Deneve answered. "The colorhead and little girl is with them, as well."

The brunette was a literal bundle of emotions. Understandable, given what had happened not too long ago, but still! Deneve wouldn't be all that surprised if the 'walk' was to get that one to calm down or something. Though, with Flora with them, that might turn into something a little more… naughty. Knowing Naruto's habit to flirt with and complement warriors to make them feel better about themselves, Deneve wouldn't be so surprised if that _did_ become more naughty in nature. Flora's certainly the type of woman to do something of the sort. After all, if she spent 7 years trying to get Naruto to bed as many women as possible when they were hiding out in Alphonse, then it's safe to say she'll try and goad Naruto to bed the colour head too… and the girl… and possibly some of the locals. Hell, Deneve and many others would be surprised if that _wasn't_ the case, at this point.

* * *

Meanwhile, with the group in question.

"You're adorable, you know that?" Naruto said, ruffling the head of a now childish Miata with a grin. The two of them were having a completely wholesome interaction at the moment. It was rather adorable, really, drawing a fond grin from Flora and a smile from Clarice.

"I am?" The little girl quirked her head to the side, with a doe-eyed look on her face as she stared up at Naruto with childish curiosity.

"Of course! You're the most adorable little girl I have ever seen!" Naruto chirped and ruffled her hair some more. Then he withdrew his palm and gave her a wide smile, "You're pretty strong too, for your age. You're gonna be a very big and strong girl when you're older. I can see it."

"...What about Mama?"

"Hmm?" Naruto looked to Clarice for a moment and said with absolute honesty. "Well, the colour of her hair is unusual among claymores, but that is what makes her unique to be perfectly honest. And despite the lack of yoki your mama has, she _is_ plenty strong in her own right. Put her up against normal humans and I'd put all my Bera on her. And I saw the damage that was left on the doorway to the Cathedral, and I did hear from many eyewitnesses that she was the one responsible. So even _if_ other claymores look down on her, she is still stronger and faster than any other human… apart from yours truly, of course." then he looked to Miata again, completely missing the surprised look on Clarice's face. He added in a conspiratorial whisper, "She's also _very_ pretty and modest and I find that cute."

Poor Clarice turned beet red in an instant upon hearing that.

Miata blinked and slowly looked to Clarice. "Mama, can he be my Papa?" she innocently asked. Naruto looked amused, and was very touched, at that. And off to the side, he heard Flora trying and succeeding to stifle a laugh while the red-cheeked Clarice herself started stammering.

"Well," he started, drawing Miata's eyes back to him once more, "that's entirely up to both Flora and your mama, little one,"

"I'm all for it," Flora unhelpfully chirped. "As long as I get to be your 'Auntie Flora'," she added as an afterthought. If she couldn't have kids, then having this child as her 'niece' would be a good substitute.

"Well… that's one," To be fair he had been expecting that from his girlfriend. Since Flora was all for it Miata then looked back to Clarice with wide, doe-like eyes. "What about you, cutie? Do you want me to be her papa?"

Clarice cleared her throat and steeled herself. "You'll have to earn that title," she replied challengingly. "But, I'm… certainly willing to let you try." If they were going to rope her into this, Clarice figured she might as well get some enjoyment out of it. She had her needs, too, after all. "I won't let just anyone be her papa, though. As her mama, it's my responsibility to make sure you'd be a good papa."

"B-But, Mama…" Miata childishly whined.

"I know, honey," Clarice replied comfortingly with a sigh. "I want you to have a papa, too, but at the same time, I don't want you to have a _bad_ papa. If he turns out to be a slacker or abusive, then he shouldn't be your papa."

Miata whined again but nodded reluctantly. She knew Mama was just trying to protect her.

"Well," Naruto started with a sigh, "I don't know the first thing about being a parent. I never had a mama or papa myself, and I had to live alone for as long as I can remember. But, I don't do things half-assed. I'll do my very best to earn it… even if it means _doing_ you." he threw that last part towards Clarice herself.

Clarice pretty much told him 'you can be her dad if you can prove it', and if Miata wanted him to be her dad, then he'll _be_ her dad. How hard can it be? He's been told he's rather good with kids, after all. He'll treat Miata the way he wanted to be treated when he was younger. Fortunately, for the four of them, they were in a place that had too few people around. And the people that were around are too far away to hear what was being said. But, still, Clarice could feel the heat coming off of her cheeks at the declaration. Oh, gods, what did she just get herself into?!

"C'mon, you," Naruto pulled a childish giggle from Miata by lifting her up. The little girl hooked her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "So, what are your names? I can't keep on calling you 'little girl' or 'pretty brunette', after all." he pointed out as he and Miata rejoined Flora, and Clarice.

"I'm Clarice," said 'pretty brunette' replied. "The one you're carrying is Miata."

"Pretty names," Naruto chirped with an impish grin, "Pleased to meet you two. I'm Naruto. She's Flora." he said, gesturing to the other blonde beside the brunette. "So, what do you want to do now that everything's calm?"

He could do with a bath, now that he thought about it. When was the last time he had washed? It's been far too long in his opinion. Not to mention, Clarice and Miata's uniforms were still drenched and their hair was wet. They could use a wash themselves now that he thought about it. But he'll let the girls themselves decide.

"I say we all get washed up," Flora chirped as if reading his mind. She longed for a bath herself, and it would be a wonderful opportunity to try and seduce Clarice into their not-so-little family.

"I don't like water, or baths," Miata complained.

"Most kids your age don't," Naruto told the girl with an amused smile, "To be perfectly honest, I didn't either when I was your age. But people won't like playing with you if you smell bad."

"Muhhhh…." the girl let out a rather childish whine at that.

"What's better? Smelling nice and having others play with you? Or smelling bad and having everyone stay away from you?" Naruto looked to Clarice and added, "Your mama won't like it if you smell bad, I am sure of that."

"I hate baths, and water... But I don't want mama to be upset… I will take a bath." The girl had a rather adorable pout on her face as she said that.

"Good girl," He grinned at Miata and pulled a giggle from her by tickling her side. Then he looked back to Flora and Clarice, "So… let's go find us an inn, eh?"

"Sounds like a plan," Flora chirped.

* * *

Several dozens of miles away...

Agatha was _not_ amused. No siree bob. After having been tossed _way, way_ out of the Holy City the woman had her fake body sink into the hair-made platform. When the massive crab-like form touched the ground, bouncing and making a large trench on the earth that went on for several hundred yards, she came to a stop with a figurative hill having been made behind her. The large, crab-like appendages sunk inside the main body before it began to shrink down before donning her human form which wasn't at all different from her decoy.

She had another Awakened Form as well; it was rather similar to Riful's but vastly different at the same time. It was a towering, grotesque, 20-foot-tall mockery of a human female entirely comprised of brown, hair-tentacles, the long limbs and claw-like fingers, the empty pits for eyes and a mouth, the lower legs that resembled tree trunks, it was all the stuff of nightmares. Of course, her 'core' would constantly shift around in order to avoid being hit. However, being so far away from the Holy City, and… away from anyone in general, the Awakened One saw no need to transform into that.

"Damn it!" The woman pushed herself up on her knees and scowled. She was hungry and didn't eat enough innards to state her hunger! "I should have killed him when I had the chance!"

"I've actually heard that a lot," a _very_ familiar voice pointed out from behind her, making the naked brunette stiffen in surprise.

"H-How?" Her brown eyes glanced to her left but the woman never turned her head to peer back at him.

"I can move pretty fast," the clone of Naruto replied, knowing full well what she was asking. He wasn't wearing the strangely coloured armour under his cloak either, as the clone had removed it while he followed her flying through the sky from the ground.

"Sorry about tossing you out of the city like that…" the clone apologized on behalf of his creator. At the same time, he pulled down his hood, not that Agatha could see it; he was still behind her after all and she didn't turn to look at him, "But, I had to be sure you didn't go on a rampage. You were surrounded by so many tempting meals, after all."

"I was trying to have a nice feast, you bastard!" Agatha raged. She was understandably pissed, the-fuck-off at being taken away from her food in such a manner, "You have no idea how long it's been since my last meal!"

"And I'm sorry about that," the clone apologised, though the tone he used showed the blond was anything but. "There _is_ a bandit camp nearby, though, if you're that hungry. I can take you there if you want?"

The Boss _did_ toss her in the direction Elda, Riful and Luciela are in. And the three of them _are_ feasting on bandits in a nearby campsite. Hopefully, those three tossed the scum into a cage or something.

Agatha huffed in irritation. "It wouldn't happen to be in the direction of those other Awakened Beings, would it? I sensed them from Rabona and if it is, I doubt there's anyone left."

"Of course. Who do you think _sent_ them there?" Naruto replied with amusement lathing his voice.

 _That_ got her attention and Agatha snapped her head around to look at him with surprise, "They're with you?!" Wasn't he supposed to hunt the youmas? Why is he hanging out with Awakened ones?! She had to admit though the young man was rather… delectable looking. But right now there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Of course," the blond snorted in amusement, "They knew I was going to Rabona to get you out. I sent them to the bandit camp because I was worried they wouldn't be able to help themselves with all those people in the city." He's had 7 years to get used to their diet. He's friends with two of them, though admittedly one of them was more of a 'friends with benefits' type of relationship. Naruto then gave her a dry look, "If you sensed them out here from all the way in Rabona then they clearly sensed you too. And they're fully aware I went in there to get you out."

"I see…" If blondie here was telling the truth then that meant he was friends with some very powerful Awakened Beings. Two of them were stronger than her. Much, _much_ stronger.

Naruto was actually finding it very, very hard to keep his eyes above her neck. The woman is still naked, _and_ she was very attractive and sultry looking. Not to mention, that half-lidded seductive look that seemed to be permanently fixated on her face… Just. Damn! He wouldn't be surprised if that was her _default_ expression. Not to mention she _did_ offer to fuck the Boss before he went and threw her out of the Holy City. The clone wondered if that offer was still on the table… After he gets her something to eat.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the bandit camp in question, several of the ne'er do wells in question were locked in a cage they'd previously been keeping their prisoners in, watching no more than three monster women rip and tear into the stomachs of their comrades. The prisoners they had kept were men and women of various ages. A lot of them were young teenagers and children. All of them were guided away from the camp in question by a fourth person. A young blond man.

The bandits were completely unaware of it since they were more preoccupied with the monster women. But when they did realize what was going on, it was far too late to do anything. And so, many of them were round up and shoved into a cage. For what purpose they had no idea, but for now, they were safe.

The clone of Naruto stared on with a bit of a green face, as Luciela, Elda, and Riful all feasted on the innards of bandits. Luciela and Elda's ones were still alive - and their screams were terrible. The clone closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before making a Shadow Clone and dispelling it after a short moment. His memories would go to the original, and the other clones.

* * *

The clone with Agatha perked up when he got the memories. So there _are_ some bandits left alive, eh? And they were left alive just in case Agatha was convinced to eat them instead? He smiled at that. "Well, looks like there are some bandits left for you to eat," he announced.

Had she had eyebrows, Agatha would've raised them in perplexment, "How do you know?"

"I can make clones and I get their memories when they're dispelled. I left one with the Awakened Beings in that bandit camp, and they've left a lot of bandits alive in a cage, just for you," he explained to her with a shrug. "So, how about it? Want to go over there and get something to eat?"

"Alright, fine, I suppose," Agatha sighed. Then, she let out a very unladylike squawk upon feeling a very _strong and manly_ pair of arms scoop her up into a bridal carry. She honestly couldn't help but blush, much to her surprise and mild embarrassment.

"Alrighty, then!" He chirped, "Let's go!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The naked brunette let out a scream of surprise when the blond suddenly _dashed_ towards the bandit camp. Naruto had moved faster than she was expecting hence, the very surprised scream she let out. She got used to it after taking a moment to adapt, however.

"By the way," the clone started, "you've got a nice pair of tits on you, y'know that?"

"So I've been told," Agatha replied, her cheeks burning once more. She was used to being the one hitting on others, not the other way around, but she certainly enjoyed it.

"I can tell," the clone said with a chortle, "what with you being naked and having no shame flaunting your goods. I bet that's how to get your meals, huh? You seduce men, maybe offer to have sex with them and _then_ eat them when their guard is down. Like a sexy, but very deadly siren."

"I have needs, too, you know," Agatha huffed defensively. There was no shame in that!

"We all do," the clone replied with another chuckle.

The woman didn't know why but there was something… weird about this young man. This 'Youma Hunter'. Agatha couldn't put her finger on it, but it wasn't _bad_ per say. This was still a once in a lifetime meeting after all… and she never thought it would end with her getting carried off in his arms like a maiden being whisked away by a knight in shining armour. If he really _was_ associated with awakened beings, then she supposes it's understandable that he is not afraid of her. He probably has seen a lot worse than youma to be completely honest.

They were moving pretty fast and if Agatha sensed right, then, it would take them around… 10 minutes to get to this 'bandit camp'. She sincerely hoped there was food for her there. She's starving.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Agatha and the clone arrived at the bandit camp in question and the brunette visibly perked up when her eyes laid upon the cage that held the bandits. And there were many. Around 10 to 15. The naked woman didn't notice Elda, Luciela, or Riful off to the side, conspicuously clean of blood, but she was aware they were around. She was set down on her feet and eyed them hungrily.

"Have fun," the clone told her and gave the woman's nice, full round ass a firm spank before heading on over to the others. Agatha let out another un-lady-like squawk before giving him a flat, but amused look. She then rolled her eyes and marched forth to do just that.

* * *

Back in Rabona, the real Naruto entered the inn with Miata in his arms with Clarice and Flora right behind him. He blinked when he saw the excited look on Clare's face. That was an expression he never thought to see on her pretty face. Apparently, something good happened. Or she's had too much to drink.

"Well, someone's happy," he observed.

"Clare's found a lead on the kid she's looking for," Deneve informed the blond. "He was here, a year ago looking for her."

"Really? Do you know where he is now?" Naruto asked, directing that question to Clare herself. He _did_ promise to help her find that Raki kid, after all. And he intends to keep that promise.

Clare shook her head, "His exact location is unknown, but I was told by Galk he was revisiting places we had been to when we were together. Last they heard he was heading West."

"I see…" Naruto set Miata down and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Then it looks like I'm heading West,"

"You're still helping her look for him?" Zelda asked in surprise.

"Of course, I promised her I would," Naruto replied with a nod. Not to mention there was… _something_ there that needs investigating. He can't remember what it was but he knew it needed to be looked into. "But not now. I want to take a little rest before we do any more travelling."

"Here here," Natalie chimed in raising a tankard in the air before lowering it again, "We had to have been walking for weeks. Several days of it were non-stop. A little rest would do us some good."

"And baths," Flora added. "The gods know that many of us need it." That was the reason why they're here anyway. To get a comfortable bath. It's a shame she can't feel hot water, though. That was something she missed.

"Yeah," he chuckled, then Naruto turned to address Flora and Clarice, "C'mon, let's go and see if we can get one here or not."

"We should," Clarice said, following Naruto up to the innkeeper, "It's an inn. I am pretty sure it's customary to have baths in inns and taverns."

"It won't hurt to ask, though. Just to make sure." Flora pointed out. There are some inns and taverns that don't do baths after all.

It turns out that they _do_ serve baths here. And that they bring the tub in question to the bedroom, or leave the tub in a specialised room just for baths under the inn. _That_ got the attention of just about every single claymore in the room. Except for one. The women all turned to eyeball the young man with glints in their eyes. Perhaps that'd be a nice… opportunity?

Naruto and Flora easily ignored the interested looks being sent their way. Miata was adorably oblivious and Clarice, she sweated upon feeling the eyes of just about every single claymore on her back. Then, after an exchange of Bera, Naruto was handed the key to the special room under the Inn and was given directions to it. Afterwards, all four of them went on down. The other women now faced a dilemma… do they pay for the same services and _join_ them… or wait until they're finished…? Oh, decisions, decisions...

* * *

Agatha was ravenously hungry. This time around, having no less than 15 people to eat, the woman didn't even bother to play with her food. She was simply too famished. The naked brunette transformed one of her arms, impaled several of them through the torso and quite brutally ripped their innards out from their stomachs and ate them like a rabid animal. She rather enjoyed listening to their screams before they were snuffed out. It took the woman a few minutes to finish up her meal and by the end, the bandits were skeletons and she was almost covered in blood from head to toe. The only part of her that was left untouched was half of her face and the entirety of her back.

"I see you enjoyed yourself," the clone commented with morbid amusement. He was used to their _habits_ , yes, but seeing the aftermath of their feastings would always make him queasy.

"Immensely," Agatha replied, bringing a hand up to lick up the blood on her digits. "Thank you for bringing me those meals. They were _almost_ enough for me to forgive you for your transgressions."

"Uh-huh…" Then the clone looked to the other women, "So, Luciela, Riful, Elda, how was your meal?"

Agatha's eyes shot wide open in shock at that, "Eh?!" Those are the names of two of the… _no_ … there's no way he's friends with two Creatures of the Abyss!

"Oh, it was fine. Good call on us not going in with you, by the way," Luciela answered with a smile.

"I must say, I've missed hearing them beg like that," Riful giggled in an evilly and creepy manner. "It was quite refreshing!"

Agatha paled considerably as her eyes landed on them. The Youma Hunter is _friends_ with two of the three Abyssal Ones?! And wasn't Luciela of the South meant to be missing or deceased? No one's heard from her since she had her territory usurped by the Man of the North!

"Uh…huh…" the clone warily edged away from them. He kept forgetting they were monsters in human form, then Riful would go and pull those sort of things off and ends up getting reminded of that little tadbit. He also knew they would eat him if there was no one else around to state their hunger. Unless they willingly starve themselves, that is. And neither of them are the type of person...monster...whatever, to go that far. Unless they were playing the long con.

"Oh, hush would you," Luciela chasted her elder, "You're making him nervous."

"Good! He should be nervous! I'm still bitter over what he did to me!" The youngest-appearing Awakened growled with a nasty look on her face.

"It's been almost a decade!" The clone of Naruto protested with exasperation.

"I hold, _very_ , long grudges." Riful informed him with a haughty scoff, "You're lucky I didn't outright kill you when you interfered with my attempts at getting new friends."

Agatha was watching this exchange, befuddled, and bemused. Apparently, there was more to that rumour of him defeating Riful than meets the eye if she's _that_ salty about it.

"Yeah. I figured, that," the clone deadpanned. Then he sighed with exasperation and crossed his arms, "By the way, what are you going to do now?" the clone asked, looking at Riful and Luciela respectively, "You can't exactly go into Rabona and knowing Miria she's probably going to use it as a base of operations. You're still thought to be dead, and you still have Doof to go back to in the West," he directed the last two questions towards Luciela and Riful themselves.

Luciela shrugged, "I'm still trying to get Mucha back under my control. I'm also looking for my sister,"

"You have a sister?" The clone blinked in genuine surprise, "I didn't know that!"

"You never asked," Luciela replied with a teasing grin, but then she got serious, "but she's not an Awakened Being. She's still a warrior. Has been since the era of Hysteria the Elegant - so she's been a warrior for a few decades."

"Oh? In that case, I'll look out for her," he didn't see why not, if she's lasted _this_ long, then it's entirely possible he already ran into her. He hoped she wasn't one of the warriors that was sent to Alphonse to die, because that would be really, really bad. "Do you remember what she looked like?"

Luciela curled her forefinger against her chin, "It's been a very long time since I last saw her, and we didn't depart on the best of terms…"

" _That's_ an understatement," Riful muttered, "You awakened, killed several warriors and cadets, and almost destroyed the Organization." She was also known as 'The Failed Experiment' for a reason, after all.

"As I was saying…" Luciela gave Riful a stink-eye at that, "It's been a long time since I last saw my sister, but… she _did_ sustain an injury to her eye. She had fairly short hair, liked keeping it in a spiky bob."

The clone of Naruto gave the woman an odd look, that sounded vaguely familiar but there was only one person he met with that description, "...Was her name, Rafaela, by any chance?"

Luciela visibly perked up at that, "You've seen her?!"

"If this is the same woman, with the exact same description you just gave me, then yes I saw her." He gave Riful a pointed look before saying, "I met her shortly after I kicked your pretty little ass."

"How was she? Was she okay?"

The clone of Naruto looked at Luciela for a moment, before saying, "Thinking back, she was still clearly traumatised by whatever happened - you Awakening, I'll bet - and was mostly quiet and aloof. There was something in her eye though: it was like she wasn't really… _living_. Like she stayed around because she had something to do. One last job she needs to see through," Naruto gave the Abyssal One of the South a sad look, "and since you're her sister, I believe it has to do with you."

Luciela frowned in concern for her beloved sister. She was the only family the woman had left, and remembered that Rafaela adored her. So, very, very much. It's entirely possible that this 'one last job' involves putting her down. It's also entirely possible that Rafaela sought her out when Isley invaded Mucha and defeated her in battle, but she was not entirely sure… Her sister _has_ mastered the art of suppressing her yoki to the point of being undetectable, like the survivors of Pieta have; and because of that Luciela had not been able to sense her. Ever since Riful rescued Luciela, the Number 5 is most likely biding her time until the most opportune moment is given to her.

"You haven't seen her after?" Elda asked.

The clone shook his head negatively, "No. I was in Alphonse for the last 7 years. While I did venture out to get the girls some food, I didn't reveal myself to anyone. Well, up until I showed myself to that one team, that is." the blond looked to Agatha and said, "That 'brunette' you were about to kill was part of that team, by the way,"

"I see," the nude woman muttered with a small frown. So that explains why that one was so comfortable around him when he showed himself. He most likely saved her before. She hit the nail right on the head with that one. Not that she knew.

"By the way," Elda spoke up, addressing Agatha in particular as she eyed her up and down, "You need to clean yourself up. Naruto's rather… 'squeamish' when it comes to us Awakened Ones being covered in blood and gore,"

If she had eyebrows, one of them would be raised right about now. "Oh? And how do you suppose I do that? There's nothing for me to use to clean up," she pointed out; and she wouldn't have bothered to clean herself up even if there was. She _liked_ being covered in the blood and gore of her meals after all!

Feeling a bit impish, the clone decided to take that task upon himself. And how? By using a water jutsu, called Suiton: Mizurappa! Agatha yelped and sputtered as a torrent of water seemingly came out of nowhere and briefly enveloped her. And when the torrent of water died down, Agatha was left drenched head to toe and all the blood and gore washed off her body.

The clone wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and eyed her up and down, "There, you look _much_ better like that."

She was wet head to toe and had her hair stuck to her skin. And gave him such a stink eye, while squirting out the water that got into her mouth, that she made the clone chuckle nervously.

"He did that to us too," Elda chirped. "So you're not alone there." then the woman gave the clone a rather… suggestive grin, "I say we _punish_ him."

The tone she used to say that raised all of the red flags, while making him pop a stiffy. Thankfully none of the ladies seem to notice that. Unfortunately, for him he was alone… and he was also a clone. He _could_ dispel himself, but that would be a dick move - not to mention they would go after the Boss himself if he did so.

Then again, as a clone, he didn't get many liberties to do what he wants... he'll see how this goes. If it _does_ go the way he thinks it will go, then he will do what the Boss lacked the balls to do and pound 'em good!

Luciela saw the look on Elda's face and quickly caught on to what she was insinuating, "Ooh, yes, I do like the sound of _punishing_ him for his transgressions…" she licked her bottom lip enticingly, and gave the clone a playful look, "After all, no one drenches Luciela of the South and gets away with it scott free."

"Well, none of you seemed to complain about it," The blond pointed out to them. He walked over to Elda and stared the woman dead in the eyes. It was a challenging stare, "And I recall you, Edla, even _basking_ in the quick wash I gave to you." The tone he used was daring Elda to deny it.

"I'm not a cat," Elda chirped playfully.

"Of course you're not a cat…" Luciela chimed in with a roll of her eyes, "If anyone's the cat here, it's me!"

Elda giggled impishly at that, as she looked at Luciela from the corner of her eye, before looking back to Naruto. "Also, you know how much I like being on top; I'll take _any_ opportunity I get to ride you like the stallion you are~!"

"Don't I know it?" The clone rhetorically replied. "You kept trying to ride me, ever since we ran into each other in Alphonse!"

THAT was memorable in its own right. Elda pretty much sought him out with the sole intention of finding out if he was a threat to her kind. Then that changed to killing him when she had learned of Riful's defeat at his hands… only for him to hand her ass to herself, on a silver platter and plowed her until she went cross-eyed.

She'd been hanging out with him and the other 'ghosts of Pieta' on and off ever since. And it seems this _was_ going to go the way he thought it would. While he wasn't too sure, the clone can most certainly deal with it if that truly was the case. Elda leaned in with half-lidded eyes and smirked coyly at him, "And _what_ are you going to do about it, hmm?"

"He _does_ need to be punished," Luciela reminded the former Number 4 as she walked over to them with the grace of a noble. "Do not forget his transgressions on us."

"Oh, I know," Elda said, eyeing Luciela as she walked to Naruto's side on her left, "I merely want to know what he intends to do before I… carry out his _'punishment_ '."

The clone looked to Luciela on his right, before surprising the auburn haired lady by reaching down and grabbing a handful of her ass through her ruffled dress. With the other, he reached down and grabbed a handful of Elda's breast and kneaded it through her sleeveless, dark blue dress.

"Oh, my!" Agatha gasped, utterly taken aback by Naruto's boldness.

"Oh, my, indeed," Luciela chuckled and leaned back against his palm when he started kneading her ass. "You're _never_ this bold, Youma Hunter. I don't know if I like it or not…" She actually did. Too bad she had no idea this was a clone and not the original. But what she doesn't know can't hurt her.

The clone chuckled at that, "Like it or not… it doesn't matter to me," he said, before leaning up to peck the auburn haired woman on the cheek and did the same thing to Elda. Then he glanced at Agatha who was staring at them with a _very_ interested look that quickly turned aloof upon seeing him looking in her direction.

Then, the clone disappeared and sent a hot shiver up the naked brunette's spine when she heard him whisper into her ear, "I think I'm gonna start with you, though..."

Agatha squawked in surprise and jumped when she felt him cup her breasts with both hands. She bit back a moan when he started gleefully kneading them like dough; then she stumbled forth when Naruto pushed down Agatha down to her hands and knees and then, she felt his hand caressing her loins and shuddered pleasantly. Again, _she_ is usually the one on the _giving_ end, not the receiving… But, as the saying goes: there's a first time for everything.

As for the clone himself, he looked towards the slightly miffed Elda and the other Awakened Beings, grinned and made a Shadow Clone for Elda and Luciela. He left Riful out, because she was still angry with him. If the Woman of the wanted to be part of it - and the clone was _sure_ she didn't - then he'll make one for her too. But! He was going to do what the Boss didn't have the _balls_ to do, and he was going to enjoy every. Single. Moment of it.

* * *

Back with the Original Naruto…

The blond let out a satisfying sigh as he eased himself down into the comfortably hot water. Not a moment later, Flora eased herself in and positioned herself on Naruto's right. Then Naruto peered at Clarice through the hot steam and grinned.

"Gotta say, you look good," he flirted, with complete honesty in his voice. Like the other women, Clarice kept herself in shape and had all the curves in the right places. The woman knew how to take care of her body. And while the stigma _is_ somewhat off-putting, Naruto was far too used to it since he had already seen Flora's, Miria's, Jean's, Lucia's and plenty of others.

"Uh… th-thank you," the brunette sputtered. Though she certainly didn't mind the compliments, she was _far_ from used to them.

"Expect that to happen when you're around him," Flora told the brunette with a smile as she nuzzled against her boyfriend, "He has this tendency to make us claymores feel good about ourselves. That includes compliments like that."

"I… I-I-uh… I see," Clarice cleared her throat and stepped into the hot water. Then she eased herself down and let out a relieved sigh - since she could feel the cold, it held true to feeling hot. It was one of the very few perks of being a 'colourhead' if she said so herself. She didn't like the cold, but nice hot baths are something she liked very, very much. Then, she peered over her shoulder and gave the last occupant of the room an encouraging smile, "Come on in, Miata. The water won't hurt you, I promise."

The girl's cheeks blew out as she pouted like the little girl she was. But, since her mama said the water wouldn't hurt, Miata went and stepped into the hot water. She whined at how odd it felt on her skin but eased herself down and sat beside Clarice before wrapping her arms around the brunette's waist.

"...I don't like water." Miata complained with an adorable pout. It was giving her weird tingles around her stigma. Like it was trying to get in.

"I know," Clarice replied with a sigh and she rubbed her daughter figure's scalp comfortingly, "But it's something you need."

"I know what it's like," Naruto said, drawing Miata's attention, "but it's good to wash up. As I mentioned before: people won't like it when you smell bad and it'll be harder to make friends. Also, as you get older, you won't mind taking baths."

"Is that what happened for you Mr. Naruto?" Miata innocently asked.

"Yep! I didn't like baths when I was your age. Learned to not care about it as much as I got older though, it's a phase kids go through. It'll happen eventually when you get older though,"

And so began the parental-like relationship between Naruto and Miata.

* * *

 **A/N: This is going to be the last chapter for this story in a while. It's not abandoned, mind you, I just need to have a small break. Drunkmansquawkin and I have been working on this for a long time and both of us need a break. We've been cranking out chapters once per week after all. Don't worry, though, you might see some one-shot stories here and there, so it's not like we've stopped entirely. Just give us some time, eh?**


	31. Chapter 29

Two days later

After the incident with Agatha and the now warm welcoming the 17 ghosts of Pieta, and a few others had received everything was calming down. Galatea, Clarice and Miata were informed of three Awakened Beings that were aligned with them. Suffice to say, they were very surprised and worried in the latter's case, that those Awakened Beings happened to be two Abyssal Ones, one of them being Riful of the fucking West who she had… an encounter with.

All of them were even more surprised to learn that Naruto was even friends with Luciela of the South, as he had met her a few months before he and Flora hooked up and became fast friends. And then there was Elda the Huntress, someone who Naruto often called 'that one awakened that hangs out with them, like a dog that won't go away'. That was actually rather amusing. Of course, neither of them were in the city as Naruto had the foresight to realize they would not be able to help themselves with so many potential meals around them, so they were left outside of the city to their own devices, and _have_ remained ever since. Though Naruto did manage to state their hunger by guiding them to a bandit camp to clear out.

 _That_ was more than a little disturbing, knowing there were two Abyssal Ones plus two Awakened Ones nearby, but their hunger for innards was curbed for a while thanks to them eating the outlaws who set up camp a little ways away from the city of Rabona.

Now fully healed and with a newly grown arm, Galatea was garbed in her nun attire once more and was standing in front of Father Vincent with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Is your right arm alright now?" The man asked her.

"Yes, it is." the woman confirmed with a small, but warm smile, "My fellow warriors helped reattach it. It might take a week for me to get used to it again, but it should be as good as before." Father Vincent smiled warmly at that.

"47… no, Clare seems to be an acquaintance of yours, Father Vincent," Galatea observed, there had been nothing but familiarity in the man's voice when he spoke of her, so there was obviously a history between them.

"Yes. Seven years ago she saved this city from a Youma. And she did it again this time… it's a debt that cannot be repaid anymore." He was absolutely certain that those warriors, along with the Youma Hunter himself, had come to their aid because of her. Father Vincent then went on to add, "But if there is anything we can do to help, I'll happily accept."

Galatea closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh, "I really have to be grateful to my companions…"

"Father Mor is also waiting for your return," that got Galatea to open her eyes from sheer surprise. "He is troubled because the children coming to church are asking him every day about your whereabouts. He wants you to come back quickly and take care of the children."

"I see," Galatea could _not_ keep the amused chuckle from escaping her throat if she tried. "If having someone like me taking care of the children is fine, then I'll happily accept." She was more than happy to be with the children again. After her desertion, those children had given her a new purpose.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what happened the last time Clare was here?" Galatea asked. Since she never knew the story behind it the woman was curious.

Father Vincent chuckled warmly and went to guide Galatea to sit down on a chair, "I do not mind at all." After that, the man started to retell how Clare had saved the city.

* * *

As for Naruto himself, the now unarmoured blond was separate from everyone else and was busy with a little something of his own. With his intent on going towards the West once more, the blond wanted to have some insurance on his own safety. He was _really_ regretting not paying any more attention to Jiraiya's lectures of Fuinjutsu techniques - he wasn't an expert or master at the art of seals by any means, but he was adept at its usage.

He had a blank scroll on a table in front of him along with an ink pot and brush. With a tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth the blond was doing careful, precise strokes with the ink brush.

The Toads of Mount Myobuku were a great help in teaching him, but they were ultimately limited in what they could do here in this world. Mainly because a giant frigging toad appearing out of nowhere in Alphonse would bring all sorts of unwanted attention. Not to mention talking toads, like Fukasaku and Shima would raise a lot of awkward questions. So Naruto had to bring in the smaller ones and keep them hidden away from those who aren't in the know. At least for now. Unfortunately, thanks to the North basically being a frozen waste, the toads couldn't stay there for long since the cold didn't agree with them.

Understandable, as it was a climate they aren't meant for. And he couldn't stay in Mount Myoboku for too long either… because of Flora being a worry wart. Still, despite those setbacks, the blond did manage to learn quite a bit from them. Fuinjutsu being one such thing; what Naruto was trying to do, was devise an emergency teleportation scroll just so they would have a quick escape in the likelihood something was to go wrong and they needed to get out of dodge ASAP.

But for a reason unknown to him, whenever he tried to apply the ink for the fuinjutsu in question or even think about it he would get a headache. It would start off dull at first; it was nothing more than a minor annoyance, but the more he tried to do it the more noticeable it became.

Naruto let out an irritated sigh and finished the what he was doing before nursing his temple. He had no idea what was going on with him, but it was annoying. It was the damnedest thing too; with the _other_ seals, he was completely fine! But, with this one, he was getting a damnable headache!

He stopped massaging his head and stared at the ground with a thoughtful frown. Was _this_ the reason why he suddenly found himself stuck here? Why he couldn't recall anything that had happened to him that got him here in this world in the first place?

Deciding that a small break for himself was in order, Naruto made a single Shadow Clone and turned to address him after the poof of smoke dispersed into the air. "You know what you need to do."

The clone nodded, "Yeah. Just leave it to me Boss." the real Naruto stepped out of the way as the clone took over. While the clone did that the Original went to lie down on the bed and take a break. Maybe resting a bit will ease his headache, who knows.

Nevertheless, he needed to get a teleportation scroll ready. Since the city of Rabona is being used as their base of operations, then it was imperative that the girls have the option to get out of trouble. It would help both them _and_ him. A 'get out of trouble' card, so to speak. But, unfortunately, he is no seal master. Not like his father or master had been. It would take a bit to get a seal out of the testing phase, but it was doable.

That was when both Narutos' heard someone knocking on his door.

"Who is it?" The original called out.

"It's Cynthia," the door opened and the woman in question peeked her head in, "is everything okay? You've been in here for a while."

Naruto sat up on his bed with a tired groan, "Everything's fine. I'm just taking a little break right now-" his clone cleared his throat purposely from the table, "-while my clone works on a seal I've been trying to make." he added as if he wasn't interrupted.

"Oh?" Interested the former Number 14 opened the door a little bit more and stepped into the room with a curious look on her pretty face. "What does it do?" She asked. He never went into a lot of detail on Fuinjutsu' as it's called back where he came from, but what he did say someone who is proficient in the arts would be able to do almost anything.

Even summoning and binding gods, a story that he had told Flora who still didn't believe it to this day.

"It's meant to be a teleportation seal." The blond replied.

"I… have no idea what that means," Cynthia told him with a flat look on her face.

"Hmm...well...in simple terms, it lets someone get from place to place in an instant."

Cynthia's eyes grew wide at that. Was that even possible?!

"Unfortunately, every time I try to get it down I get this annoying headache." Naruto continued with a very exasperated growl, "I don't even know why I get it! But I'm beginning to think it has something to do with me ending up here seven years ago."

"I see…" Cynthia gave a thoughtful frown at that. Then she went over and sat down on the edge of his bed and gave Naruto a comforting smile, "Well don't strain yourself okay? Neither of us wants Flora to go crazy again because _you_ hurt yourself."

Naruto chuckled nervously at that. "Very true…" he trailed off, as his thoughts went back to Pieta where Flora almost Awakened several times when she thought he had been killed.

"So, out of curiosity, do you have any news on Riful, Elda, and Luciela?" Cynthia asked; that was one of the reasons why she came here actually. Miria wanted an update on the Awakened Ones that are lurking outside of Rabona.

"...Actually, I don't." Naruto admitted with realization. He looked at the girl with a smile and said, "Gimme a moment."

Naruto quickly made another clone and manually dispelled him. The Uzumaki waited for a short moment and perked up when he got the memories of a clone. The memories he received over the past two days made him blush and grow a little hard in his trousers, because not only did he now know of Agatha joining up with the two Abyssals and Elda, he now remembers his clone ploughing the fields...as it were.

"...Well?" Cynthia prompted.

"Uh…" Naruto quickly cleared his throat, "...well, the Awakened Being that was terrorising the city of Rabona has joined up with them. The bandits that were kept locked up in case she was to join up were more than enough to state her hunger. And for the past two days, the clone I sent to watch over them was… fucking three of them."

Cynthia blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Before she started giggling like a little school girl. "Oh-ho my~! It seems your clone is taking the initiative."

"Yeah… seems so…" Naruto deadpanned with a twitching eye, knowing full well Elda _and_ Luciela aren't going to let him live this down. Suffice to say he was not looking forward to going back to them. Speaking of them he's going to need to send another clone over there since the one watching them is running low on chakra at the moment.

Then Cynthia stood up and stretched her arms above her head with a satisfied groan. Her butt raising as she did so, it effectively caught Naruto's attention. What can he say? She has a nice ass and that leotard under that tunic of hers _really_ brought it out.

"So, are you still going West?" She asked prompting Naruto to quickly tear his eyes away from her posterior and up at her. Thankfully she didn't notice him admiring her nice ass. And if she did, the woman didn't show she knew.

"Yeah. It's where Raki was last seen going to, after all." He replied with a nod; then Naruto exhaled and crossed his arms with a small frown. "And from what I got back from my clone, Riful and Luciela want to go back there too. The former is rather… concerned that 'Doof' will wander off and look for her since she's been gone for a while. Luciela's going back because there's strength in Numbers. Elda's likely to come along, unless she splits like she normally does. As for Agatha… the Awakened One I tossed out of here… there's the possibility of her coming along herself. I don't know for sure though." Naruto shrugged at that as he wasn't really worried about Agatha herself, if she was to step out of line then the girls would put her down quicker than she would be able to react. He then looked up at Cynthia with an inquisitive look on his face and asked, "So, what about Clare? I know she is still looking for Raki since he was last seen heading West is she going to go over there?"

"It's a very high possibility," Cynthia answered with a nod. "And knowing Captain Miria, she'll want someone to watch over her to make sure she doesn't do something reckless. If that does come to pass, I'm volunteering to watch her. And knowing Yuma, she'll want to come along too."

"...And knowing Flora, she'll want to come with as well." Naruto added with a thoughtful tone.

"Mostly for _your_ sake." Cynthia piped in, as she turned to give him a pointed look. "Remember when she thought you were dead?"

"Yeah…" Naruto couldn't help but wince at that. Clare said she had to pull her back from the brink of Awakening at least three to four times, before passing out. She still has that strand of red in her hair as an ever constant reminder.

"Jean is likely to go as well. That woman is loyal to Clare to a fault." The clone at the table added. "And if Helen's going to go somewhere then you can bet Deneve's going to follow. They don't go anywhere alone. The rest… they're probably going to stay here and hide from the Organization and be the city's first line of defence against any other youma or Awakened Being that have the stones to attack it."

"That's a good point." The original said with a slow nod. "The Organization still thinks there are no other survivors from the War in the North. If Miria's smart, she'll use that to her advantage." Then he turned to address the clone and asked, "Are you good to work on that for now?"

"Yeah. I'm not getting any headaches." The clone raised his free hand and waved the original away. "I'll see what I can do with this. Go talk to the others or… whatever."

"Alright," Naruto and Cynthia both walked out of the room. As much as he wanted to take a rest, the blond knew that a single mistake in a seal can have very terrible consequences. Any mistake, be it a miswriting, or a sudden jerk from being surprised would render the seal itself useless and would have to be redone from scratch.

So such leaving the clone to himself would be the smartest and wisest, thing to do. Not long after Naruto and Cynthia left the premises, the former made a new clone who immediately went to take over the one watching Luciela, Riful, Elda and Agatha. As much as Naruto considered Luciela, and Elda to a lesser degree, as friends they are still Awakened Ones so he was going on the side of caution.

Cynthia didn't question it as she had gotten to the way he works.

* * *

Several minutes later Naruto in the local tavern, and was sitting at a table chatting with Miria. Many of the other women were there as well, but quite a few of them were not on the premises. Clare and Jean were two of them. It didn't take long for Miria to ask what Naruto was going to do next.

And, so, he told her the truth.

She exhaled and closed her eyes, "I am not surprised. You are adamant on helping Clare find that boy." Miria opened her eyes again and gave him a look, "Are you going alone, or are you taking someone with you?"

"I won't be going alone. Riful and Luciela are going to head back there because they've been gone for too long. And if she hasn't split yet, Elda is probably coming along too. Not too sure about Agatha though." Naruto's eyes darted to his girlfriend who was standing nearby and was clearly listening in on the conversation, "Flora is most likely going to be tagging along."

"Damn right I am," the woman in question said in a tone that brokered no argument.

"I have no complains there," He chuckled. It would be like old times before she had been sent to Pieta. Then he looked around "So, where's Clare and Jean? They're not here."

"Neither are Natalie, Lily, Zelda, Eva, Lucia and Wendy," Queenie added, pulling out a chair and taking a seat next to Miria, "Last I saw Clare and Jean they were heading towards the western battlements. Natalie, Lily, Zelda, Eva, Lucia and Wendy, on the other hand, are at the market, buying things."

Well, that explained where they are. They had their yoki suppressed to the point he was having trouble finding them unless he was to use Sage Mode. At least they're not causing trouble; in fact, the girls mingling with the locals was a good thing since it would get the civilians used to their presence here. "In that case we should go find Clare and Jean."

"We should," Agreed Miria, "Despite hiding her feels well Clare is getting a little restless." She was going to let the hothead go to the West, if only to let the woman clear her regrets. Raki's been on her mind since they separated all those years ago and she was still so adamant on finding him again.

Not to mention, them going against the Organization will eventually involve the Abyssal Ones too. Miria wasn't too sure about Luciela and Riful, but she won't deny the inevitability of having to fight them too. But for the moment they were on their side. Which is all well and good.

It would be a very brutal fight, and she cannot guarantee their lives. It would most likely be their last battle. At the very least, Miria wanted to make sure _everyone_ had as little regrets as possible in this world before it gets to that point.

* * *

A little while later, Clare and Jean were on the Western battlement overlooking the landscape. The eyebrowless woman glanced at her comrade from the corner of her eye for a moment, before she looked ahead.

"You want to look for him, don't you." It wasn't a question; it was a statement and Jean knew that Clare knew that.

The woman beside her didn't answer right away. "...I do. I said it before in Alphonse: I always intended to head South. Now that I know where Raki went, I can follow the trail there before it gets cold any further." The woman replied. She just had to convince Miria to let her go.

"If you're going to look for him then I'm going with you." Despite the fact almost a decade had gone by, Jean still believed her life belonged to Clare. While it has exasperated the former Number 47, she had plenty of time to get used to it. Clare still thought it was irritating, but at the same time, she was more than glad to have a friend like Jean having her back.

"You don't have to, you know…" Clare said with an irritable huff, but then, the corners of her lips curved upwards a slight tinge, "...but thanks." She really meant that and from the smile, she saw on tugging on Jean's lips, Clare knew the former Number 9 knows it too.

"What are friends for?"

Clare and Jean stared at the landscape in front of them in wonderful silence. Neither women knew how long they were standing there for but it felt like hours had passed. Eventually, however, the silence was broken when the two women heard the sounds of many feet touching stone behind them. Both women partially turned around to see everyone there behind them. Including Naruto.

Miria looked Clare dead in the eyes and asked her one simple question, "So, do you still want to go to the West, Clare?"

Clare and Jean briefly exchanged looks before looking back at the sandy-brunette. The former took a deep breath, "Miria, I-"

Before she would say anything more, the woman in question interrupted her. "You should go and clear up any lingering attachments in your heart," Miria told her with a neutral look on her face. While Clare and Jean were surprised at how Miria was letting her go without protest, no one behind the brunette was surprised since they knew Naruto and Flora were going over there too.

"You're… letting me go?" Clare asked, with doubt showing in her voice and on her face.

Miria nodded with confirmation and said, "When we left the North, you said you had two objectives; one of them was finding Raki and I assume the second objective is vengeance for the many souls that have already perished. If you continue to be weighed down by those desires you won't be able to move forward." While Clare contemplated on her words Miria then turned to address the others, "And it's not just Clare. The same goes for all of you. Our fight against the Organization will inevitably involve the Creatures of the Abyss. It will be an incredibly difficult battle and will most likely be our last one. Before then, if you have anything to take care of, you'd better settle it now."

Everyone looked at her with wide-eyed surprise. While they knew she was letting Clare go to the West, they had no idea she was willing to let them go do whatever they want.

Now that she had their undivided attention Miria continued where she left off and did not beat around the bush. "I cannot guarantee that this is a fight you will come back from. So as much as possible I want you all to seriously think about what we're doing and go into it with no regrets. If you have second thoughts and change your mind, I won't hold it against you. If you find a way to survive out there that is probably what everyone who fell in the North would have wanted. But I want you to move in groups of two or more. Where ever you go, there must be at least two of you. If you obey that rule you can go wherever you want."

"What about Naruto?" Eva asked. Everyone blinked at that and looked at her.

Naruto gave the one-armed warrior a questioning look. "Uh… what about me?"

"I'm just wondering if that rule happens to apply to you too, is all," Eva answered with a shrug. "Thanks to you, the Organization is still not aware we're still alive so they are going to be more focused on you instead of us."

"Well…" Pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts, Naruto scratched under his chin. "I think it applies to me too. I'm heading West since I'm still helping Clare find Raki. Luciela and Riful want to go back there because that 'Doof' guy's been by himself for too long. So unless Agatha, Elda, Riful, and Luciela have gone their separate ways by now I would be killing two birds with one stone."

"Well, that settles that then," Miria said with an approving smile. "I'm going to be waiting here for you all. When the time comes, I will go forward alone if I must."

"Well, in that case, I think I'll take a trip, as well," Helen announced putting her hands behind her head and drawing everyone's attention to her. "It'd be pretty boring just hanging around waiting for Clare and you to come back. And now that I think about it, I haven't seen my hometown once since I left it." She glanced to her best friend and lowered her arms to her side, "How about it Deneve? Your town is pretty close to mine, isn't it?"

"I have no interest in that place. But if you're going, then I'll go with you."

"What about all of you?" Miria asked, looking to the rest of their group.

Eva shrugged, "I'm staying here. Just in case any other awakened ones try to get inside and eat people."

Lucia crossed her arms, "I can't remember where my home was. There's nothing for me there anyway, so I'm going to be staying here and hold the fort."

"Wherever Naruto goes, I'm going," Flora stated.

Natalie let out a heavy sigh, "My home was beyond Pieta. There's nothing for me there anymore, so I'm staying here too."

"I don't have a home anymore, so I'm fine," Cynthia said with a small smile, showing she didn't mind she no longer had a place to call home.

"Though my town was still standing last I heard, I don't consider it my home ever since a youma ate my family," Jean said.

"My home was in the North. So I'm going to be holding the fort here just in case a youma or Awakened One tries to get inside." Zelda said with a shrug.

"I'm staying here," Julianna said.

"It's too dangerous for me to get near my home. It's close to the Organization's Headquarters." Queenie said with a shrug.

"My town is a small village near the Organization headquarters. It'll be too dangerous for me to go there anyway." Yuma said with a sigh. She really wanted to visit the place too but knew better than to try her luck.

"I don't really have any memories of my home town, so I'll be staying with you, Captain." Tabitha finished.

"I see…" Miria looked at everyone for a moment and nodded to herself, "Alright, then, in that case, Yuma and Cynthia, you go with Clare, Jean, Naruto and Flora to the West. Everyone else will hunker down here."

"Understood," Cynthia answered with a respectful nod.

"What?! But, Miria I can go with just Jean!" Clare protested.

"I know you can. But you have a tendency to get out of control, so if you have two or more warriors with you, whatever the situation, then you will probably act more rationally."

Seeing as Clare was about to protest some more Naruto took that opportunity to remind her of something she may have forgotten. "Clare, while you and Jean are strong in your own right, don't forget Riful and Luciela are now wanting to go back to the West. Even though Luciela is my friend, she still is an Awakened Being and there is still a very good chance she will try and kill you. It'll be safer if you had more people with you on the off chance they do try and do that."

"Not to mention Agatha and Elda are with them." Flora piped in; while they would be able to take care of Elda and Agatha by themselves, fighting two Abyssal Ones together along with Agatha and Elda would be a damn nightmare!

"But I…" Clare closed her eyes and exhaled, "...alright."

Miria sent Naruto a thankful smile and addressed the ones who are going to be leaving the city, "Alright. Then I just have one more thing to say: be careful in all that you do. Avoid all contact with Awakened Beings and other warriors so you don't get dragged into needless fights. I will wait here and pray for your safety."


	32. Chapter 30

While Clare was rather eager to start making her way to Lautrec before the trail got colder any further, the woman did not take into account she needed fuel to keep going. In other words, she along with Flora, Jean, Cynthia and Yuma all need food and water on their person. It was something Naruto himself had to point out to her, and the young man even went so far as to tell her to not go anywhere until he got them some much-needed food and water for the journey. Helen and Deneve were not exempt from this either; while the former did enjoy eating a lot, they were mostly in the form of apples and thus advised them to get proper food and water to eat and drink from the marketplace.

Helen would've complained about that and would have also reminded him they didn't need to eat for a week as well, had Deneve not readily agreed with him. So the woman sucked it up and looked on the bright side; if they had food on their person when they needed it, then they wouldn't have any delays getting to their destination!

Naruto made a shadow clone to go give them an extra hand and made another shadow clone to get his particular group a large amount of food and water for the journey to the West. With there being six of them, counting himself, their group was going to need a lot of it. As for the original Naruto, he was heading back to the tavern to check up on the clone that was making the teleportation seal in his place. While it may have been a short while since he had left the clone to his own devices, Naruto was hoping his copy had been able to finish off the seal in his absence, since unlike himself, his clone did not receive an irritating headache when he started working on it. So with that thought in mind, the young man was hoping the clone was either finished with it by now or was very close to finishing.

Upon reaching the tavern, the blond immediately made his way up to his rented room and entered. His clone was busy working away on the seal still, just as he left him. However, there was someone else in the room too. Another shadow clone, who appeared to be working on something of their own. And from the looks of the small pile of paper beside the clone in question, that _something_ was something big.

"Uh, what's going on here?" A very curious Naruto asked his clones with an eyebrow quirked.

Without taking his eyes off the tele-seal, his creator had been trying to work on, the Naruto-clone answered, "Since you were making a seal that would allow anyone using it to get from Point A to Point B, I thought it would be a good idea to make a 'Point A'. The seal wouldn't work if there was no way for you to actually use it in a far off place, right?"

The original Naruto blinked at the explanation and he chuckled sheepishly while scratching the back of his head, "Well, that's very true. That scroll I had been working on would have been useless if there wasn't a 'Point A'. I take the pile of paper over there is exactly that? What do they do?" The blond asked as he gestured to the pile of papers in question.

"Well…I'm not good at explaining so I'll make it simple. You carry those," the clone paused momentarily to point at the papers, "on your person. They've been specifically altered so youki and chakra can be used on them; after that, the matrix is activated on both seals, and you're brought here."

"So...that would mean the others can use them and they would be able to get back to safety?" Naruto asked his clone to make sure he understood it right. His clones can confuse even himself at times if they're not careful explaining.

The clone offered a simple, "Yes."

That...made Naruto breathe out a sigh of relief. That got a huge weight off his shoulders. At the very least his girls - as Flora mischievously insisted many a time in Alphonse - would be able to get out of trouble the _instant_ it rears its ugly head.

"So, are they ready, then?" He asked, directing the question to the clone of his clone.

"Essentially." the clone of the original's clone peered over his shoulder, "Why?"

"Because Helen and Deneve are heading to Mucha to see the former's hometown. I'm heading to Lautrec with Flora, Clare, Jean, Cynthia, and Yuma. Riful, Luciela, Agatha, and Elda _may_ come with if they haven't split ways by the time we get to the camp we left them at." the blond answered his copy.

"Ah. Alright. Yeah, they're practically ready. Just give us a few more minutes to work out the kinks though. Gotta make sure they're working at full capacity."

"Alright."

* * *

Sometime later, while they walked around the marketplace, Flora found herself looking for her beau like a lost puppy wanting attention. Cynthia was amused by it, Yuma found it to be oddly adorable, Jean looked indifferent to it but secretly found it amusing, and lastly, Clare looked as if she wanted to be anywhere but there. If Flora could whimper like a lost puppy wanting attention the girls figured she would be doing it right now.

It was unbecoming of a warrior like her - let alone one of her former rank - but she couldn't help herself! Flora had become mildly addicted to her man over the years and wanted snuggles, damn it!

Taking a deep breath, the former Number 8 frowned and looked around searchingly. Where the fuck was Naruto?!

"Hey."

Poor Flora nearly jumped out of her skin upon hearing said young man greet her, hugging the woman from behind while he was at it. Hearing the slightly muffled sniggering from Cynthia, Flora sent the young woman in question a dirty look but that only made Cynthia try and hold back her laughter even more.

Naruto chuckled into Flora's ear and gave his girlfriend a loving peck on the cheek, "You missed me I take it?" he asked her. Even though he had left a clone _with_ them to help with getting the needed food and water for their journey to the West, it just wasn't the same as having the real deal with them… especially for Flora.

"If she could, Flora would have been whining for you like a lost puppy," Cynthia told him with a very amused giggle and an equally amused grin.

"Not surprising," Naruto told her with a shrug and a grin of his own. Then he pulled a pleased squeal out of his girlfriend when he leaned in and nuzzled his nose against the crook of her neck. "She's a good girl though."

Yuma was tempted to speak up about that but thought better of it. Reminding the woman of the time she almost awakened multiple times in Pieta would do her no good. And she knew full well by now that the rumours of Flora murdering any bandits she comes across had _some_ sliver of truth to it. The woman was all for sending Luciela, Elda and Riful to that bandit camp while the rest of them made their way over here to stop Agatha.

"Damn right I am…" Flora cooed; then she leaned back against her boyfriend and let out a happy sigh as he embraced her even more.

"So, where's the clone I left with you? Is he still getting the stuff you need?" He asked, directing the question to the others since his girlfriend was a little preoccupied at the moment.

"The clone is wandering around and is still getting the food and water we need." Yuma answered; then she looked around searchingly for the clone in question and let a small frown pull at the corners of her lips, "he should be around here somewhere though…"

"Where exactly did you go?" Questioned Clare.

"Went back to the tavern I was staying in to collect a few things," he answered with a shrug. Then he reached into his pouch and took out several pieces of paper with an intriguing seal on it. "It was these papers I was getting. I've been working on it for the past two days actually."

Cynthia grew wide-eyed in remembrance, "Is that the-"

"-seal I was making that would let someone get from Point A to Point B instantly?" Naruto finished for her and when Cynthia nodded in response, Naruto answered with, "Yes. Yes, it is. Well, to be more accurate it is a part of that seal I was working on. The one in the tavern is more of a 'Point B', the destination. These pieces of paper are the 'Point A'."

That caught their interest damn near immediately.

"So, we can retreat to the tavern from anywhere if we want some… privacy, then~?" Flora cooed as she looked up at him with a coy grin; she very much found herself liking the idea.

Naruto blinked, and before his trail of thoughts could delve further into lewdness, he quickly cleared his throat, "Uh...it's…erm...it's not _meant_ to be used like that. But y-yeah it can?" he answered sounding a little unsure towards the end, even though he had no intention of sounding unsure. The blond quickly picked up where he left off, "The downside to these pieces of paper is that it can only be used one time. You'd have to traverse all the way back to where you were after it's used."

"So it's meant to be used as a last resort, then?" Jean asked for clarification.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, essentially." he replied.

"I see… so how does it work? We don't have chakra." Clare both asked and pointed out to him.

"The seal matrix was tailored specifically to interact with the first type of energy it's exposed to. It'll react to your youki, drag you out of whatever trouble you may have found yourself in, to here in a split second." Naruto explained to her and the others. "I'm planning on handing some over to Helen and Deneve too." Knowing how Helen is, Naruto wouldn't be at all surprised if she were to bite off more than she can chew. Deneve would be with her sure but the woman in question is more likely to _follow_ her into that trouble rather than convince her to stay out of it.

"Oh! That's very handy!" Cynthia gushed. Her eyes were sparkling with delight. As long as they had that on their person, then no one in their group would have to die needlessly! They would be able to get away from any life-threatening situations easily!

"Can it work on just a single individual? Or can it work on multiple people?" Jean asked as she was now thoroughly intrigued by the way that piece of paper worked.

"...I'm not too sure, to be completely honest," Naruto answered after taking a moment to think. "It's recommended for one person to use; it _is_ in theory possible for more than one to use it, if you were to hold on to the person holding the paper. But I wouldn't do that unless it's extremely necessary."

"Oh poo…" Flora muttered with disappointment; she would have loved to be able to use that seal to have some 'snuggle time' with her boyfriend. But she could see the benefits to it. She turned her head and gave Naruto a peck on the cheek, "Well, at least you're thinking of keeping us all safe."

And that's one of the _many_ reasons why she loved him! He was so gosh darn considerate!

"I want to be as sure as I can that you girls are safe," Naruto replied. "I mean, I know you're all very capable, you've trained for the past 7 years to get to that point, but I still want to help."

"Much appreciated," Cynthia chirped, a cute, little smile upon her face.

"Very appreciated," Jean added, giving him a smile of her own. "Knowing you're looking out for us takes a lot of weight off my shoulders." Indeed, the woman felt lighter now that they have a way to get out of life-threatening situations.

"Oh! There you are boss!" the group of six looked to see the clone the original had left with the five women was making his way over to them. The copy had several large pouches hanging from his waist, along with waterskins. "I've got the stuff for the journey! You can get moving any time you want now."

"Got it," Naruto said with a nod; the clone proceeded to hand the women their own waterskins and pouches first before going to his creator. Looking inside, the blond saw the pouch was filled with beef jerky, bread, some fruit such as apples and bananas and other assortments of goods for them to eat. There was plenty of things for them to eat while they made their way West. Good. Naruto looked at his clone and gave him a smile, "You did a good job. Have you seen Helen and Deneve?"

"Yeah, they were a little busy getting their foods sorted out; the last time I saw them, Helen was getting a bunch of apples." The clone answered with a shrug. And once he was done handing over the pouches and waterskins to everyone else, the clone gave his creator a two-fingered salute, which the original returned, before walking away. Once he was out of sight the clone dispelled himself.

Naruto closed his eyes as he received the memory of his clone and almost smiled when he got to the memory of seeing Helen and Deneve, mainly Helen, practically dragging the clone he had made for them around the marketplace while Deneve followed with exasperation. Okay, that was funnier than he would admit.

"Alright," he cleared his throat, and addressed the five women, "now that we're fully stocked up on food and water, we can finally make our way West."

"About goddamn time…" Clare muttered; finally, they can get moving and stop wasting precious time! The longer they waited here twiddling their thumbs, the colder the trail Raki left behind would get!

Without a word, or waiting, the former Number 47 immediately left the marketplace and made her way towards the Western city gate. It didn't take the woman long to hear the others following after her, and for Jean herself to keep pace. They already had their cloaks on their person, since they were planning to keep themselves under the radar for as long as possible.

Though Naruto did not forget about Helen and Deneve; while he followed after his girlfriend and the other four, the blond quickly made another shadow clone while they were out of eyesight and handed him the rest of the teleportation seals to give to them. The ones in the tavern were still around and busy working on making more of those teleportation seals. It wouldn't hurt to have more than one for backup.

* * *

A little while later Naruto, Clare, Jean, Cynthia, Yuma, and Flora were now in the remnants of the bandit camp they had sent Luciela, Riful, and Elda too. The six of them took notice they were two short; Elda and Agatha weren't around. The clone that was with the Awakened Ones was still there too.

"Where are Agatha and Elda?" Naruto asked, directing the question towards his clone since he was meant to be keeping an eye on them.

"Agatha went off on her own. She's a bit of a loner it turns out. Elda wanted to go her own way for a bit…again. She also said she'll find us when she wants to be around company again." The clone answered with a 'what can you do' look on his face and shrugged helplessly.

"I see…" Naruto wasn't at all worried for Elda; from what he had seen of her for the past 7 years the woman knew how to take care of herself. And whenever he had to go into town to get more supplies, the woman also knew how to mingle with the crowd. Agatha… for good reason, he wasn't too sure about. For one he had no idea what she was like and he didn't know her all that well. But from what little he did see of her, the nude woman knew how to take care of herself. She was rather bloodthirsty too. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

"So what happens now?" Luciela asked when it was obvious Riful still wasn't going to talk to her friend. Depending on the answer they get they'd go their separate ways.

"We're heading West," Naruto answered, making Riful and Luciela perk up at that.

"Can you say why?" Riful questioned with a quirked eyebrow. Maybe she can use this to her advantage?

"Business I'm afraid," Naruto answered, much to the Abyssal One of the West's irritation. "But what I _can_ say is that we're looking for someone, and the trail is bringing us to the West. Since you're heading there anyway, I figure why not go together until we have to go our separate ways? We'd kill two birds with one stone."

"There is strength in numbers. And we Awakened Ones are actively being hunted down by the Organization's lapdogs." Riful mused aloud and completely ignored the glare she got from both Clare and Flora. It's not like they can do anything to _seriously_ harm her. At least, that is what she believed.

"I'm all for it." Luciela smiled. Who knows, maybe they'll get lucky and have a chance encounter with her beloved Rafaela along the way! She missed her sister dearly.

Sighing Riful shrugged and figured being in a group with The Youma Hunter and his little harem - even _if_ he denies it - would be a lot safer than going at it alone.

"Then it's settled. Let's go while the sun is still up!" Naruto said with a bright smile that was so infectious it made Luciela's smile grow wider. Even Riful was affected by it and before long she too found herself smiling.

Soon enough the group of eight were leaving the remnants of the bandit camp and were now making their way back towards Lautrec.

* * *

 **20 days later**

"Well, this place looks vaguely familiar." a slightly more ragged-looking Naruto said aloud as he looked at the distinctly familiar landscape before him. Green valleys and distant mountains were laid before him; it was a sight Naruto very much welcomed.

Naruto looked halfway over his shoulder when he heard the others emerging from the treeline behind him. Excluding Luciela and Riful everyone else looked slightly out of breath as if they had done a marathon without stopping.

Taking a gulp of fresh air into her lungs Flora exhaled and walked over to her boyfriend; then she took in the sight that laid before her silver eyes. "Well, this does look familiar, doesn't it? It reminds me of the time the two of us were travelling together out of Mucha and into Lautrec under the guise of 'keeping watch' over you." The woman stated before she leaned up against Naruto so she could catch a small breather.

"Those were good times, weren't they?" Naruto asked her.

"Yes. They were." Flora answered with a nod of agreement. Back then everything was so much simpler. No hiding from the Organization. Being able to kill bandits without anyone being the wiser… though the higher-ups within the Organization did have their suspicions of her. Then she looked up at him with a concerned frown, "How are you feeling? Is everything…" she made a gesture towards her own head.

The flinch Naruto made almost went unnoticed. Almost. "Yeah. It's fine. It's nothing I can't handle."

"Is it going to be a problem?" Naruto and Flora both turned around to face the woman who asked. It was from Clare. While she may look indifferent the two of them knew Clare was actually worried about the former.

"No, it won't," Naruto reassured her and the others. "So far all the voice is doing is… well… _singing_. The words are faint and I can barely make it out, but it is singing." Naruto was very perplexed by the voice. It _sounded_ familiar, vaguely so. He also knew the owner of the voice was a deep baritone in tone, and the way he talked was… guttural. Like he was growling.

"That's… good." Flora hugged him to her like he was a plushie, prompting Naruto to look at her with an amused smile. "That's really good to hear."

"And to think it happened after the clone you left behind in Rabona dispelled." Cynthia said with a shake of her head and a sigh.

The clone Naruto left behind to work on the teleportation seal had finished working out the kinks a few days after they had left the city. And when he dispelled, the headache Naruto had been experiencing when he worked on the seal matrix returned _tenfold._ It was so bad the backlash from the memories of the clone had knocked him out for nearly five minutes. The last thing Naruto was able to recall before he lost consciousness was a sharp pain in the middle of his head. Like something had 'cracked' open. And when he woke up it was to see a panicking Flora holding him to her chest… and a voice he could barely hear in his head talking to nobody but itself.

While he did try to make contact with that voice, the blond had no luck so far.

Riful still feeling rather vindictive towards him for what he had done 7 years prior had taken enjoyment from his little episode. Luciela was more concerned though, but made no attempt to see if Naruto was alright. Mainly because Flora was doing a good job of that herself. While Flora may have been a former Number 8, Luciela had to admit the way she _glared_ and hissed at her like a damn cat had made the brunette a little wary of getting close.

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting the backlash to be that bad." Naruto admitted with a close-eyed sheepish smile.

"Well…we're in Lautrec now," Luciela said and abruptly changing the subject and bringing everyone's attention on to her and Riful. "So this is where we part ways."

"Yeah." Naruto gently got out of Flora's grasp and surprised Luciela when he went over and brought her in for a big hug. "You take care of yourself out there, you hear?"

Chuckling Luciela returned his hug with a smile before separating. "I will. Take care of yourself as well, my friend." she told him, then she leaned down and gave Naruto a peck on the scalp.

Once she withdrew for a second time Luciela looked to Riful. When the second oldest Abyssal gave her a nod, Luciela returned it. The grass ruffled beneath their feet when they _moved_. One second they were standing beside Naruto and the other five women, and the next they were already disappearing into the green valleys below. Their destination was clear: Riful's second hideout.

Something told Naruto he would be seeing her again soon enough, though.

Then the blond turned to Flora and the others and asked, "So, who wants to take a small rest before setting off again?" In response, Flora, Cynthia, Yuma, and Jean all raised their hand, beating Clare four to one.

Then Naruto let out a startled squawk when a giggling Flora suddenly hopped up and wrapped her arms and legs around his shoulders and waist. Then she pecked him on the lips. "I think that's a _wonderful_ idea~!" she purred into Naruto's mouth with half-lidded eyes.

"W-well… we _have_ been moving almost non-stop for several days. So… I suppose we can rest our feet and legs a little." A mildly embarrassed Clare said as she took her gaze away from the making out couple. She figured resting for a few hours wouldn't hurt. Unlike the five of them, Naruto was still human. He needed to eat and sleep just like any other human being that are not Claymores.

By this point, Naruto had fallen down on his ass as his arms and legs had been wholly unprepared to handle the extra weight Flora suddenly and abruptly provided, as for Flora she was outright snogging him.

As she sat down with crossed legs, Cynthia giggled with amusement when Naruto moaned into Flora's mouth as the woman got a little 'hands-on' with her boyfriend. Deep down, though, she couldn't help but feel jealous of the woman for snagging up such a nice young man. He was nice, kind… handsome. A little shy and reluctant when Flora tried to get him to bed other women, though that was steadily becoming redundant now thanks to Flora whittling him down. And it was about goddamn time too!

Jean, Yuma, and Clare all sat down and crossed their legs too. Though Jean and Clare stuck the tip of their claymores into the earth and sat against it. Yuma put laid her claymore down on the ground, before laying down herself with her hands behind her head. Jean and Yuma tried their best to ignore the kissing sounds Naruto and Flora were making to no avail. As for Clare, she had initially thought of going on ahead while everyone else rested...but thought better of it in the end. She knew they would find her again if she tried to rush off ahead and leave them behind.

And there was Naruto himself to consider. With him around, she wouldn't make it a mile before he caught up with her. It was best if they stuck together. What was that saying Naruto once told her in the North?

You're stronger together than being alone. Was that it? It had been a long time since she heard that figure of speech, but it _was_ good advice...even if she preferred to go solo. With a sigh, Clare reached into her pouch and took out an apple which she promptly started eating.

"We're almost out of food again," Cynthia informed Naruto after she went through her own pouch. "We're going to have to restock in the nearest town."

After she finished getting out some food of her own, Jean looked ahead of her and took in the landscape to see if it was a place she recognised, "...It's been a while, but I do recognise the location we're in. The nearest town in the West is Lacroa; from where we are it would take us a few hours to get there."

"Then that's where I'll begin my search," Clare said with a determined look. Staying away from settlements would make her job of finding Raki more difficult than it needs to be. Plus they would be killing two birds with one stone.

"Not… not yet," Naruto gasped out after Flora broke the liplock. Holy moly she was a thirsty one! He turned to address Clare, who quickly took off the jealous look from her face before it was seen by him, "Take a rest, eat and drink and _then_ we'll head on over to Lacora." He absentmindedly rubbed the back of Flora's head who was now hugging him as if he was a giant plushie.

"Yes. We'll be rested and prepared for anything then!" Cynthia was in full agreement to Naruto's suggestion. Her feet were _aching_ from all that walking and so Naruto suggesting taking a break was very welcome in her opinion.

So that was what they did until they were ready to move out again.


	33. Chapter 31

Once they were all rested Naruto, Jean, Flora, Clare, Cynthia, and Yuma all backtracked as they travelled to Lacroa. There was no sense of pattern in their formation...at least not at first glance. Naruto was the epic centre of it all and everyone else, including Clare, was surrounding him as if he were a precious package. It was something Naruto either took no notice or he genuinely did not know.

However, there was a couple of people who were more than willing to take advantage of being so close to Naruto. Flora is one of them. Cynthia was the second. And surprisingly, Jean was the third - she still remembered what Flora told her all those years ago back when she got rescued from Riful, after all.

Naruto was most surprised by Jean's advances, as she didn't seem the type, but he certainly didn't mind. That just meant he got to catch up on all the teasing he missed out on her! In fact, that was what Naruto was doing right now.

"Remember the time you were wearing nothing but a cloak, Jean?" Naruto asked the eyebrowless woman as he put an arm around her shoulders.

"Y-yes… I do." How could she not? She had to wear that cloak for two days until Clare's handler found them.

"Jean was wearing nothing but a cloak?" Cynthia asked. That sounded vaguely familiar to her but she may need a little refresher.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I told you about it a long time ago," Naruto replied with a nod before he gestured to Jean. "This cutie here had a little run-in with Riful of the West."

"Oh, yeah, I remember you mentioning that," Yuma said. She also remembered Riful herself looking mighty pleased to see Jean, Flora _and_ Clare when Naruto brought her and Luciela back with him after he went to rescue those warriors.

"Yeah, I never saw what happened to her specifically but the incident left her buck ass naked. She had to wear a cloak much like the one she's wearing now to cover her decency."

"If I recall, you were flirting with her too during those two days she had been wearing that cloak," Flora added with an impish grin. "Complimenting her even." She ducked under a tree branch that was too low and stepped over a half-buried log.

With a smile, Naruto shrugged. That was very true, what he did remember of that day was him flirting and complimenting the scarred woman. It did wonders in making her feel better about herself.

Jean blushed at the reminder. Oh, yes, him complimenting her during that time made her feel really good about herself. And the fact he didn't mind her stigma was just a bonus! It was very rare for someone to not be fazed by their unhealable gash.

"Hmm, that makes me rather jealous," Cynthia said with a sigh. Then the young woman let out a squeal when she felt Naruto's hand slapping her buttocks, and she looked at him with wide eyes and a girlish giggle.

"I don't see why," Naruto told her with a small shrug and a smile, "I've seen _you_ naked before a few times, and I complimented your body as well," As his words got a blush out of Cynthia, Naruto's eyes traversed down to where her butt is. "It's a shame you're wearing a cloak, though, because you have one fantastic ass." he flirted as he drew his eyes back up and giving the plaited blonde a flirtatious wink.

Cynthia reacted rather predictably. In both Naruto's eyes, and Flora's. She blushed and brought her hands to her cheeks, and happily giggled like a schoolgirl with a crush. It was completely and utterly adorable. No _wonder_ she was so likeable… it was a shame he didn't meet her a lot sooner when she was still stationed on the other side of the Great Sea of Fire in Mucha. But that was in the past and it all evened out in the end.

But boy was he surprised when he found out she was _that_ Cynthia, his girlfriend had mentioned way back then.

"How is it long until we reach Lacroa, again?" Yuma asked.

"We've been walking for close to an hour now. If my memory is right then I'd say we have two to three hours left if we are to keep our current pace." Jean answered, Yuma smiled and nodded at the answer; she was happy to know the journey wouldn't last the rest of the day.

"Two to three hours means I get two to three hours of flirting and teasing with _all_ of you… yes, even you Clare." Naruto said, and adding the part at the end just to tease the hot-blooded one of the group with a grin. To her credit all Clare did was close her eyes and shake her head before redirecting her eyes ahead of her… and without anyone seeing, Clare felt her cheeks heat up. She liked the attention, as she was still a little girl at heart, but did he really have to do that?!

"Keep that up and they'll jump you," Flora joked, though she was all for letting them have a piece of her boyfriend. After all, as he said a long time ago, they're only human and are so _very_ lonely… it'll be a matter of time before he beds him without her having to goad him into doing it, after all.

Little did she know his clone has his way with Luciela, Elda, and Agatha during the two days they were in Rabona. And that Cynthia knows.

Naruto knew he was going to regret saying this… "They're free too," but he did anyway and straight up told Flora and the others with a shrug.

At that Flora brought her hands to her lips and let out a pleased gasp as she stared at her boyfriend with a proud look on her face. "Oh! I _finally_ got you to crack! How wonderful~!"

"Yes, dear; you goading me into fucking all these beautiful women for the past 7 years has gotten to me." Granted he _did_ fuck a few of the girls before they hid in the frozen North. Lucia, Miria and Flora being the prime three before that point. And then Elda followed suit shortly after she found them. But Flora had been goading him to fuck all the other women - except Clare for obvious reasons - for the past. Seven. Years. It was bound to whittle him down if she kept it up.

And it did. Now, instead of resisting her goading into fucking Miria and the others, Naruto was just...going to stop going against her and go _with_ her.

Jean let out an adorable squawk when she felt Naruto feeling up her ass, and as a result, she blushed madly. "I think I'll start with you… I won't screw your brains out right this moment… because we're still making our way to Lacroa. But I think getting a little 'hands on' with you won't impede our progress to the town too much~"

What was it that Jean said sometime after he rescued her? Oh, that's right: she owes him her life for what he did and would be willing to compensate him in whatever way she can. Naruto knows she remembers it too and knew the woman would be all too happy to repay that 'life debt' she thinks she still owes him, even when he told her she didn't owe him anything.

Jean bit down on her bottom lip and partially closed her eyes as pleasant tingles raced through her butt and up her back as he gently kneaded and squeezed her buttcheek through the fabric of her skirt. By the Twin Goddesses that felt good!

As for Cynthia she couldn't help but look at the young man with growing anticipation! She had been wanting him to make a move on her for a _very_ long while now! And now that his reluctance has _finally_ been whittled down the young woman just couldn't wait for it to be her turn!

Yuma, on the other hand, was rather glad she had her hood up. No one could see the reddening of her cheeks and she was thankful for that. But she too was rather eager for Naruto to make his move on her. Now that he was being less resistant, maybe it's time for her to make _her_ move? Flora was a very open woman and she has shown them time and time again that she was very open to sharing with him.

Clare, however, kept her displeasure and jealousy known and swallowed it down. She too was starved for attention and she will admit that Naruto is rather handsome. And exotic. And intriguing. He was many things to her, and while she and Raki had shared a kiss and managed to worm his way into her heart, - and unbeknownst to the others, had every intention of telling Raki goodbye as her revenge towards _that one_ comes first before all else - she will admit seeing him and Flora together being all lovey-dovey made her _very_ jealous. But she was also happy for them.

Of course, she looked forward to him teasing and flirting with her, but no one excluding herself would know of that. She's human too after all and like all humans, she _craved_ attention. Even if it was on the flirting and teasing side. There was just something… _about_ him. Something that makes someone...place all their trust into him. It was very similar to how Miria manages to draw people to her.

They both have charisma. And while Miria is a brilliant strategist, Naruto is also capable of coming up with brilliant plans in the midst of battle. Though that tends to work _only_ for him. Naruto and Miria were similar in some ways now that she thought about it. Clare could only imagine what they would accomplish if Miria was the one that got hooked to Naruto instead of Flora.

Fortunately, they would have to keep walking for a few hours until they reach the town of Lacroa… Clare blinked before her brow creased. Hang on; did she just sense a strong yoki aura within that town they were heading towards?

/

Lacroa was a bustling town with walls surrounding it. The settlement in question wasn't quite a village and not quite a city. It was firmly between the two. The population of Lacroa was unknown but it had been estimated to be somewhere between 2,500 and 5,000. Not as big as Rabona's but it was big nonetheless.

And currently, something was happening within Lacroa that certainly made the inhabitants gather round in both curiosity and wariness. That _something_ happened to be Claymores. And what's more is that there are three of them in one place; that alone surprised the inhabitants of Lacroa who had seen them as the idea of there being _three_ claymores in one place boggled the mind. No one had been killed in Lacora as far as they knew! And their mayor didn't send the Organization for aid in killing a youma either, so what on Earth were these women doing in their town?!

Unknown to these civilians, five ex-claymores, plus The Youma Hunter himself, were there too as they were investigating the situation. And to not draw too much attention to themselves, all six of them had their features concealed behind their hoods and cloaks.

While the townsfolk were talking amongst themselves about the oddity of these warriors being in their town, Naruto's group were quietly talking among themselves.

"Three claymores? Here? How come we didn't sense them?" Flora whispered to her boyfriend and friends; thankfully the chatter from the people around her had drowned out her voice, and kept it from reaching the three warriors dead ahead of them.

"They must be taking suppressants," Clare deduced with squint eyes. "This is exactly what I was afraid of."

"But why would they be taking suppressants?" Yuma questioned; she couldn't understand their thinking. Why would they put themselves at risk of an Awakened One that is within their midst?

"...There's just three of them," Jean pointed out after she took a moment to subtly survay her surroundings. "That is too small for an Awakened Being hunt."

"Yes… which means they're probably not even aware of the Awakened One that is watching them among this crowd." Clare stated with a subtle nod. She wondered what on earth those three were thinking though. _Why_ would they put themselves at risk?

Naruto cocked his head underneath his hood before he looked to his right. He frowned and reached out to tap a few of the girls on the back, "Everyone, keep your heads down. We got handlers coming our way."

"What?!" Yuma hissed as she bared her teeth and widened her eyes in alarm, with some of the others following suit. "What do we do?!"

"Keep your heads down and don't draw attention to yourselves." Naruto answered, and his cloak parted slightly as he reached up to readjust his hood. "The Organization still thinks you girls are dead, and with those ladies taking suppressants you're completely invisible."

Flora stared at her boyfriends back. Hard. "...What are you going to do, Naruto?" She quietly demanded.

Though neither of them could see it, Naruto smiled. "I'm going to do my nickname says: hunt a youma."

As much as she didn't want him to go risking his life and wellbeing, Flora knew damn well that Naruto could take care of himself. He did have a point too; so far the Organization thinks they're dead. There's no need for them to know otherwise… unless push comes to shove.

"Alright… but you'd better be _damn_ careful, you hear me."

Naruto grinned at the motherhen like tone in his girlfriend's voice. "Yeah, I hear you, Flora." Then the blond split ranks and casually side stepped or walked past several people as he made his way up front.

Meanwhile the two handlers approached the three claymores. One of them, a middle-aged man with a balding scalp, asked them, "Did you find any sign of her?"

The one who answered, is a young woman by the name of Lina. She like all claymores before her had silver eyes. The woman had short, straight, platinum-blonde hair, and a round oval face; she had a fit physique befitting a warrior; thin but fittingly athletic, with a modestly sized bust, wide hips, and firm thighs.

Lina shook her head in denial. "There is no sign of her in this town." she answered in an even tone.

The handler scowled out of frustration, "Damn it! The information we got regarding her came in too late. She's probably long gone by now." with a low growl he looked at the three women assembled before him. "Nevertheless, the three of you will be getting promoted, do keep this failure to yourselves."

That was when Areth took notice of a hooded figure emerging from the crowd that had assembled around them. The warrior herself was a willowy beauty with a slender face, a sizable bust, wide flaring hips, toned thighs and a flat stomach. Her platnium-blonde hair was styled in a short, spiked pixie-cut, that was similar to Deneve's only slightly longer.

The person she saw raised his hood slightly and she saw the horned forehead protector being worn underneath… the forehead protector, that the Youma Hunter had been described to wear by _all_ warriors in circulation. She blinked several times to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks, before springing into action. "S-STOP RIGHT THERE, YOUMA HUNTER!" She cried out, pointing at the young man in question.

Her colleagues and handler nearly jumped out of their skin upon hearing her sudden shout. They turned to face him, but just as they did, he vanished… but not before giving them a cheeky salute. His swift disappearance startled them even more.

"What the ABSOLUTE FUCK?!" Areth shouted in genuine shock; where in the flying _fuck_ did he go?! She, Lina and the other claymore wildly looked around for him, and quickly found The Youma Hunter standing a little ways off to their left. The hooded blond had his back to them.

Then the cloak covering him parted in front as he swiped his throwing arm out in front of him. Several projectiles left his palm and to the alarm of many, struck a fairly ordinary woman in many places… and instead of falling down, like many had expected the woman instead hissed in pain as purple blood spurt from her injuries. To the alarm of everyone, including the three Claymores and Handlers. The woman's eyes abruptly changed to the familiar cat-like golden colour all youmas, claymores and Awakened Ones had whenever they use their yoki. The Awakened One quickly healed her injuries, pushing the projectiles out of her body, and at the same time a disgusting mass of flesh grew out from the back of her head, and body before that mass sprouted extra spider-like limbs that immediately attacked the Youma Hunter.

"What the!?" Lina shouted in wide-eyed alarm, "An Awakened Being?!"

The Youma Hunter stood his ground, seemingly about to be impaled in front of everyone! Then, suddenly, his image flickered before he disappeared just mere moments before the female Awakened One could run him through. The extra limbs smashed into the ground where he was, shattering the ground and sending smoke in every direction. The Youma Hunter reappeared again a small distance away from where he once stood, with his feet dragging against the ground. This time, the hooded blond had the front of his cloak parted, revealing what he was wearing underneath to everyone in the front and sides and had his trusty trench knives in hand.

"My, how rude," the demonic woman huffed glaring at the hooded blond with narrowed eyes. "I wasn't even hungry and you went and attacked me like that? Someone needs to teach you a lesson, boy."

The blond smirked at her and skillfully tossed one of his trench knives in the air, where it flipped many times, before gravity took hold and he skillfully swiped it out of the air and held it in a reverse grip, "I could sense your ill intent a mile away. You _were_ going to attack regardless. I merely took the initiative." he shot back.

The partially transformed woman blinked at that. Then, she shrugged uncaringly and didn't bother trying to deny his words. It was true, after all. She _was_ planning on attacking the claymores. They're using suppressants and that made them easy pickings. Killing the Handlers would be the icing on the proverbial cake as far as she was concerned. Besides, the Organization was actively hunting them down now. As soon as they get so much as a word of any location of an Awakened Being they would send a Hunting Party to take them down! She had no idea how long they had been on those suppressants for, and thus planned to attack them before they had the chance to regain their ability to use yoki once more… she was being pragmatic.

And seeing as she had this young man in her way, it looks like she needed to get through him to get to them first. So that was what she proceeded to try and do. The partially transformed woman ignored _literally_ everyone else as she sent more of her extra limbs at the Youma Hunter, and she along with the claymores were taken by complete and utter surprise when the young man actually met and _deflected_ those jagged tips with the sharp end of his trench knives.

To say they were surprised would be an understatement. And none were more surprised than the claymores.

"What… in the actual _fuck_ …?!" The third claymore cursed aloud; her name was Noma, she has neck-length, spiked sandy-brown hair with the tips curling outwards. She has a heart shaped face and is very pleasing to look at, with a generous bust, wide child-bearing hips, a toned stomach and a pair of firm looking thighs.

"He's actually _blocking_ her attacks?" Lina couldn't help but voice her awe as she watched him use his trench knives to deflect, redirect, and even _send back_ the extra limbs. Normally she would have gone right in there to help had it been anyone else… but the woman had been taken by surprise by the scene unfolding before her to actually act. The fact she can't bring out her yoki also had a factor in it too.

"Not only that but he's holding his ground against her." Areth added with wide eyes and her mouth slightly agape. Is he truly human? Sure, in theory a normal human could block an attack from an Awakened Being...but blocking several at a time and maintain a quick reaction time to intercept them all in a quick time? That simply was not feasible… not for a normal human at least.

When she found herself unable to hit him the Awakened One grew more and more frustrated...so she transformed completely. Her clothes tore at the seems as the woman's physique transformed into something inhuman; she gained six crab-like legs, but retained a humanoid and _clearly_ feminine upper body with two extra extensions with jagged tips spouting from her back, just under her shoulder blades.

"Heh…" The Youma Hunter had to crane his head up to look at her. He gave her a smirk that was visible to the now crab-like awakened being. "There we go…"

He provokingly beckoned the female Awakened One to make the first move… and at the same time a visible blueish aura formed around his trench knives as Naruto infused wind chakra with them to increase their sharpness. The aura was like a second layer that mimicked the shape and size of the trench knives.

The female Awakened One was taken by surprise from the sudden glow that formed around the combat knives the hooded young man before her is holding. What was even _more_ surprising to her was that she had not sensed any yoki being used… and that it was _visible_ ; which told her that _thing_ around his knives was something else entirely. She didn't dwell on it any further however and instead lashed out at the so-called Youma Hunter before her with one of the two extensions on her back!

"GAH!" The feminine Awakened One let out a cry of pained surprise when that extension was severed with a scissor slash by the trench knives. She gasped as she saw her own blood squirting out of the stump. She couldn't believe her eyes; that shouldn't be possible! Her armour in this form was durable enough to withstand solid _steel_! How in the hell did he manage to not only cut her, but _sever_ the extension?!

She snarled at him with enraged eyes, "Why you…" she hissed aggressively and menacingly. Her golden-eyes grew wide when she saw the other three Claymores finally taking action, despite them not being able to use yoki. She quickly moved two of her six legs back when Lina tried to slice them off from above, and quickly retaliated by trying to impale her through the back with her other spike-like limb. The feminine Awakened One came up short however when the Youma Hunter suddenly appeared beside the Number 14, quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and to the surprise and disbelief of everyone _somehow_ kicked off of the very air itself.

Both Lina and the Youma Hunter landed outside of the Awakened One's strike area, and the latter unwrapped his hand from around Lina's waist. Unfortunately for the Awakened Being, Areth and Noma were already attacking with ferocity, though they were understandably a little bit sluggish and much, _much_ slower than they would have been. Still, though, the two women were more than capable of taking care of themselves as the fight had proven. Within a matter of seconds, the Awakened One had last two of her six legs and sustained four injuries to her human-like abdomen.

"Tch!" With a snarl, the Awakened One decided the odds were against her and made the smart decision to bail. Her yoki spiked, and to the surprise of Noma, Lina, Areth, and the hidden women that are with Naruto, the Awakened One grew a pair of wings, and separated from her crab-like lower body to reveal a pair of humanoid-legs. With a mighty flap of her wings, the Awakened One took to the sky and flew as far away from the town as fast as she possibly could.

The Youma Hunter wasn't about to let her get away scot free though. She was very much a threat and thus needed taking care of. And so, it was to the shock and utter surprise of his audience that the hooded blond leapt to one of the rooftops while he was standing in place. Very much like he had done in Pieta. He didn't stop there however; as his feet touched the tiles, the blond took a few steps head start before using a chakra enhanced hop to get himself up towards and above the winged Awakened One.

The Awakened One reared back with a startled, "Gha!" when the Youma Hunter suddenly appeared right in front of her face… the last thing she had seen before it all went black was his arms making a scissor motion.

Her headless carcass and disembodied head fell to the ground as gravity took told, with the hooded blond following suit as he stopped the flow of chakra into his trench knives and put them away in their holsters. The Youma Hunter landed in a crouch, while the head and carcass slammed against the ground with a sickening, bone-crushing thud. With a sigh, the hooded blond stood up, faced the still warm corpse and after making a few quick hand seals, he surprised the living hell out of everyone when he literally breathed goddamn fire onto the headless body, and the severed head at the same time!

It didn't take too long for Naruto to hear his audience murmuring.

"Did you see that?!"

"He killed that Youma so easily."

"Is he a Youma too?"

"Should we try and kill him?"

Naruto scowled at that last one. But then an idea came to him. The hooded blond straightened himself up to his full height and allowed his lips to curl down into a dangerous frown.

"...You know," he started, making sure his voice was loud and unamused, "unlike the Claymores you people are so afraid of, there is _nothing_ stopping me from killing you. I _am_ a trained killer. So, you know, bad mouthing the person who literally saved your lives is not doing you any favours..." he trailed off with his voice taking a warnative, and threatening tone.

His threat wasn't necessary to shut them up. In fact, he could have just ignored it all. But he still felt inclined to make a point, here. To the villagers, he was by himself, and they have probably heard of him through word of mouth by visitors before dropping off the face of the Earth. But to the Organization, they still think the women they had sent to the North had died there. He had no idea if they knew he was in a relationship with Flora or not, but Naruto wouldn't be surprised if they had known or had suspicions they were in a relationship…so coming off as short tempered after Flora's supposed 'death' would make sense. At least it did in his mind.

His attitude towards Clarice's team notwithstanding of course. But that wasn't here nor there. Naruto's threat did do its job though as the murmering quickly stopped. The blond could _feel_ his girlfriend's disapproval from where she hid. He guessed the threat he made reminded her of bandits. Which she hates. But, for now, he wanted to see what the claymores and the handlers were going to do. In the meantime, he went to collect his weapons he had thrown earlier. Getting to them had revealed that they were kunai, courtesy of Mount Myoboku; they were a major step up from the makeshift throwing knives he once used all those years ago. Those shivs were useless to him, but at the time he had no idea he could take stuff from Mount Myoboku, and because of that he made due with what he had.

Oh, well… the more you know, as the saying went. At least now, he had some better weapons on him. Better late than never as they say. Now that he thought about those claymores… what were they going to do now that he had shown himself? One of them _did_ tell him to 'stop right there' after all. Looking behind him partially over the shoulder Naruto looked at the women.

The one who yelled at him to stop was looking at him warily, wisely keeping her distance with a hand on the hilt of her sword, as was the other two. Though she was prepared to attack him if he tried anything funny, he could sense no malice in her. The same applied for the other two women with her, though the apparent leader of their group looked far more worried.

Though, to be fair, who wouldn't be? He breathed fire after all. And jumped on top of a roof of a building without taking a running start, and on top of that sliced through the Awakened One's harder than steel-like armour with a pair of flimsy knives like a hot knife through butter, when it is put into comparison to their ridiculously sturdy swords. She had every _reason_ to be worried. It certainly didn't help their suppressants is still in effect.

The two men in black who're with them had gotten over their shock by now and were openly scowling at him. Naruto dismissed them however and turned around completely to address Noma, Lina, and Areth directly.

"So… are you three going to attack me or what?" He asked them while crossing his arms against his armour-plated chest. He could tell their stances were defensive, but he figured he might as well ask. Appearances can be deceiving after all, and it was actually a rather common trick to fool one's opponent into a false sense of security with a defensive stance only to go on the offensive when their guard is down.

Lina, being the leader of this particular group slowly shook her head 'no'. It was the right answer as Naruto uncrossed his arms and said, "Good. Then I won't attack you either. As long as you don't attack first that is."

"That is acceptable." Lina finally said, though she and the other two didn't sheathe her sword. It was to hopefully ward him off. Though the Number 14 had a feeling it wouldn't matter anyway, but it helped calm her nerves so she kept it out.

Naruto nodded at that. "Alright, then in that case I'll be heading off."

Unfortunately, the Handlers were having _none_ of that.

"S-stop him!" one of them shouted.

The girls flinched and looked reluctant to do so, but brought up their swords, nonetheless.

"W-we're under strict orders to capture you on sight for questioning," Lina declared, doing her best to mask her hesitation. It didn't fool Naruto in the slightest. "You're coming with us, Youma Hunter!"

"...You don't want to." It was a statement, not a question. Naruto could see it in their eyes.

"Th-that's irrelevant," Lina insisted. "Orders are orders, whether we like it or not; it's as simple as that! We _will_ bring you in!"

Naruto gave her an unsettling smile, "Well, if you insist… why don't you try it? See what happens? I can't guarantee you'll be alive by the end of it though."

Lina and her teammates visibly hesitated. Regardless, they were _just_ about to do precisely that, but then someone else decided to join the party.

"Now, now," a new male voice called out. "There is no need to be so uncivilized."

Naruto's smile turned upside down at the vaguely familiar voice and he turned to look at him. "Oh. It's you. The slimy git." said 'slimy git' was a dark clothed man, who's clothes looked like a black robe you would find in a desert, with dark glasses and a fedora. Naruto met him once before, a few days after he and Flora rescued Jean, Clare, and Galatea from Riful. Naruto's tone showed he did not think highly of the man. And like before, the man had a smile on his face that irritated Naruto to no end.

In short, he was the textbook definition of a fuckface: a person whose very face made people - most notably Naruto - want to fucking punch him.

"Boy, do I have a bone to pick with you…" he growled at the man with a vicious scowl pulling at his lips. While it was an act, mostly that is, Naruto really did have a bone to pick with the man. He _did_ send Flora, Clare, and Jean to the North to die after all.

Rubel smiled and adjusted his fedora, "Come now, there's no reason for you to be hostile."

Naruto's scowl grew even more at that. "Oh really? I can think of a couple of reasons you fuckface. Let me give you one: you sent Clare, Flora, and Jean to die in the North." He cracked his knuckles in a menacing manner, "I'd really love to hear what reason you have this time to stop me from killing you."

"I sent no one, young man," Rubel corrected with a shrug. "Their orders came from the Elder; I was just the messenger." Not to mention he had a gut feeling that this was all an act. If the infamous Youma Hunter survived the Great Battle of the North, then it is entirely possible others had as well. Phantom Miria is not the woman who would just lie down and die like a dog after all. She would have had contingencies to get as many women out of that mess as possible.

Naruto didn't say anything for what felt like hours. Then, just when things got incredibly tense, the hooded blond let out an aggravated sigh, "Hnnnn… you _do_ have a point… but first…" he trailed off before he suddenly slammed his palm against the ground. Rubel was taken aback, as were Lina, Noma, and Areth, when two pairs hands made from the earth itself literally grew out of the ground and grabbed on to the other two handlers.

"I'm still feeling rather vindictive." Naruto continued, as the two men started to scream in both discomfort and pain from being squeezed by the overly large hands, "I may not be able to take it out on you, but there are two other men from the Organization here. They'll make _good_ substitutes."

Rubel looked at the giant pairs of hands with intrigue. It seems Clarice's report on him was indeed true. He truely can manipulate the earth. Rubel's lack of concern for the men in black made Naruto damn suspicious of him though.

"Indeed, they would; but what good would that do?" Rubel politely asked him.

"Handler Rubel, what are you doing?" Noma questioned.

"Just talking my dear," the fuckface said with a small, arrogant looking smirk. "I suspect the Youma Hunter isn't here by sheer chance. And if he was here, it is entirely possible he overheard you talking."

Naruto scowled at that but then wiped it off his face when he saw an opportunity. He didn't have much information to go on but it was certainly worth trying. "...I _did_ hear that you people were looking for someone. Who is it?"

Rubel's smirk grew bigger at that. Bingo. "How about a trade?" the man gestured to the other two men in black who were still immobilized by the giant hands, "You let those fine and respectable men go, and I'll answer any questions you have to the best of my abilities."

Naruto didn't need to even think about it. As soon as the last four words left his throat the hands were already sinking back into the earth after letting the two men go. It was a good trade off in his eyes.

"Alright. I'll bite." he relented.

"Good. Follow me if you would. We don't want the common folk to eavesdrop on us, do we?" Rubel was apparently confident enough that Naruto would follow him, as he turned around and didn't bother waiting for him.

With a shake of his head and a small, throat curtling growl Naruto followed after the fedora clad man. He subtly looked past the crowd still watching him and saw Flora, Jean, Clare, Cynthia, and Yuma all shadowing them. He felt a little more at ease knowing his girlfriend and friends were watching his back from the shadows. If this was an attempt to ambush him, then at least he had them to back him up.


	34. Chapter 32

Now that he was at a more 'private' place, Naruto stared at Rubel from the wall he was leaning against. The smug-looking man had his hands in his pockets as he took in their surroundings. Naruto looked past the man and wasn't at all surprised to see Noma, Lina, and Areth there. They must've followed them here - either to make sure he didn't do any harm to Rubel or to make sure no one would intrude. It seemed they haven't picked up his companions yet, which was rather fortunate.

He didn't see the other two men though. After the squeezing, he gave them with those earth-made hands it's not that hard to assume they were recovering elsewhere.

Naruto brought his gaze back onto Rubel when he heard the man announce, "Yes. This will most certainly do. Less company here."

Naruto snorted and lowered his hood, allowing the man to see how he looked without the mask. He got a couple of googly eyes from the claymores after they got a good look at him. Though that quickly turned to disbelief when they realized just how _young_ he looked. Naruto had aged well during those Seven Years of hiding. One would say he looked a carbon copy of his father…if he had longer hair and not have the whiskers like birthmarks on his cheeks.

They were expecting the Youma Hunter to be a man in his late thirties to early forties! They never thought him to be in his early twenties! Which meant he was practically a _child_ when he first got on the Organization's radar!

Naruto exhaled and crossed his arms against his chest, "Alright, let's start with the obvious: why are you lot here?"

Rubel smiled his condescending smile at the question and promptly answered, "Straight to the point? Very well. We are looking for one of our own. You've met her seven years ago. The one-eyed warrior, Rafaela."

"Hard to forget about her," Naruto stated with a deadpan look. That woman was rather pretty… but she did have some baggage on her. Like he told Luciela before, it was like the woman wasn't even living. It was as if she was pushing forward because she had one last thing to do. One last mission. "What happened to her?"

"She disappeared in the West and has suppressed her aura to the point even the keenest of sensors can't track her. The Organization has mobilized a small part of its forces to look for her. The three behind me," he gestured to Noma, Lina, and Areth who were listening in with rapt attention, "are part of it. There are more but they are currently searching other towns further in and around Lautrec."

Thanks to Miria and the others, Naruto has long since learned that 'aura' is another way to say 'youki'. After how many women say youki instead of aura though, he figured they just preferred to call it youki instead of aura.

"So that's why there's so few of them. And why their youki is suppressed." Naruto said in realization. He knew they were looking for someone but until now the blond didn't know why they were on suppressants.

"How do you know our youki is suppressed?" Lina asked.

Naruto looked at the Number 14 and with a casual shrug he answered with a tone to convey he didn't find it to be a very big deal, "I can sense it. It's how I was able to find that Awakened Being and it's how I am able to find Youmas."

That got the three surprised women to exchange looks and look back at him. Rubel was clearly intrigued but didn't voice it.

"How is it that you're able to sense them? Can you tell us?" the Number 14 asked and this time she was unable to keep the curiosity out of her voice. She _really_ wanted to know! It was one of the biggest mysteries the Youma Hunter had! Quite literally _no one_ in the Organization knew how he was able to do the feats he is able to do. And there are rumours going about that he confronted Riful of the West and bailed the Number 4 Audrey's team out of trouble when they had the misfortune to run into her!

"Windcutter Flora asked me a similar question seven years ago. And so, I'll tell you what I told her back then: if I told you, I'd have to kill you. "

The warriors and Rubel looked displeased to hear that, but none of them pried any further.

Naruto shrugged at the look he was getting from them. "I'm an assassin. It's to be expected I would keep my skills to myself. What I _can_ say though is this: there's more than one of me." He was being quite literal, because, Naruto _can_ make more of himself. But they didn't need to know that. He was being vague enough to let them make assumptions but not giving them any vital information about himself in particular.

"I see…" So there are other people out there in the world with his skill? How come the Organization never caught word of them? Were they really that well hidden from the world? Nevertheless, this was very interesting information indeed. Rubel filed that tidbit of information away. This could be useful for later use.

Naruto was quick to get the questions back on track, though. "Enough about me though, where was Rafaela last seen before she vanished?"

"She was last spotted near the border of Toulouse and Lautrec. Shortly afterwards we lost contact with her. I don't have any definite theories, but I do suspect she deserted." Naruto kept a straight face at that. Desertion is one of the rules that must not be broken in the Organization. Breaking it is essentially a death sentence. Rubel shrugged and took one hand out of his pocket to slightly raise it, "Of course, that is mere speculation on my part. It's not definite. Rafaela could be looking for her sister for all I know."

"Luciela of the South." Said Naruto, and that had taken Rubel by complete and utter surprise. It had taken the women behind the black-clad man by surprise too. They didn't think he would know of her!

"How do you know her?" He couldn't help himself but he simply _had_ to know!

Naruto gave him a look that told him he was stupid. "I was travelling with Flora. She answered a lot of questions I had. I met a couple of other warrior women as well when Flora and I were travelling together." he shook his head and with a chuckle, he asked the man with a bewildered look on his face, "Did you _seriously_ not think I wouldn't learn as much as I can from them?"

He had a history with Luciela; they were good friends even, but they didn't need to know that. Oh, yes, they most certainly did _not_ need to know that.

"I see," was all Rubel said. It made sense. The Youma Hunter had been with Windcutter Flora for quite a while before he had relayed orders for her, Jean, and Clare to make their way to the Northern Region to join the task force there. During that time Naruto would have most likely asked her questions about the Youma, Awakened Beings, and about the Claymores themselves. And if there were any questions she had been unable to answer, then he could have simply asked any other warrior they came across.

Naruto _had_ been seen with Eva and Miria at one point as well, and he would likely have asked them questions. The latter was especially knowledgeable about the past generations. Frighteningly so. It had been one of the _few_ reasons why the Organization sent her to the North to die. His reason to try and kill off Miria, along with Clare, Helen, and Deneve, was because she along with the aforementioned women are partially awakened.

While the Organization _is_ trying to create monsters that can be controlled, and partially Awakened Warriors would be a step to achieve that goal, Rubel had his own reasons to eliminate them before the higher-ups were to take notice. Reasons he kept very, _very_ close to his chest.

Suddenly, Naruto partially turned halfway around to look behind him making Rubel curious. "Is there something the matter, Youma Hunter?" he asked with a single quirked brow.

"Just thinking is all." Naruto answered before he turned back to look at him, "Seeing as you told me all of this... what exactly do you want me to do?"

Rubel chuckled and spread his arms out, "Why, nothing of course. Consider the information a little 'thank you' for sparing the other two handlers."

Naruto didn't believe him for a second. His gut told him the man wanted something from him but he will take Rubel's word for it. Though he didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him.

"Alright," Naruto said with a nod towards Rubel's way. "Then, in that case, I'll be heading off now…" But before he would go on and leave Lacroa, the blond looked towards Noma, Lina, and Areth and knew he needed to apologise to them, and that was what he intended to do.

"But first…" Naruto trailed off before he made his way on over to the three women who were watching his approach to them with wary eyes. Once he was before them Naruto surprised the three women by bowing, "I owe the three of you my sincere apology."

"U-uh…" Lina uttered stupidly. She blinked owlishly for several seconds, completely dumbfounded by this. It was something she had not been expecting from the infamous Youma Hunter. A quick look towards both Noma and Areth showed they never expected it either as they were equally surprised.

"Wah-why are you apologising?" Noma asked him.

Naruto straightened himself up with a sigh, "For what I did earlier. Towards the three of you specifically. I shouldn't have antagonised the three of you. You were just doing your job. I can respect that." Then he leaned in and winked at them as he whispered, "Besides, I wouldn't have _really_ killed you… you three are too beautiful to kill and it would be a crime to mar your beauty. I simply would have knocked you out."

That made them do a double-take. Was...was he flirting with them?! To be fair, it did make them feel good about themselves - they did get crude remarks from men here and there - and not only that he was doing it in a non-slimeball way. It was honestly refreshing. And flattering.

They felt traces of a smile growing on their faces before they could stop it. And Naruto saw said smiles, however faint it was, and smiled back at them. "Well, this is where we must part." Naruto told them as he took several steps back from them, adjusting the cloak as he did so. "Who knows… if you're lucky you might see me again."

With one last wink, and having nothing over his head, Naruto bent his knees and in a feat that defied gravity, took a mighty leap to the rooftops. He was out of sight before they knew it. None of them knew how to feel about this young man, now… but if nothing else, the interaction was far more pleasant than what they had feared.

"He was… _nice_." Areth stated in a disbelieving tone, but she was very happy he had apologized to them. A person like him was sadly rare in the world. Noma and Lina agreed wholeheartedly with her. Naruto was nice. It was the very first time someone had treated them like they're _human_. Granted, he didn't fear them - and obviously for good reason - but the way he treated them just now made them feel… normal? It was hard to describe.

While they were obligated to bring Naruto in for questioning, they were hoping their next encounter with the Youma Hunter would be on better terms.

* * *

Naruto had rejoined with Jean, Clare, Cynthia, Yuma, and Flora in another part of town that was far, far away from Rubel, the Handlers and Claymores. Standing on the flat surface of a rooftop Naruto was busy keeping a look out just in case someone happened to spot them.

"We're not going to be staying here are we?" The answer was obvious for Yuma but she felt it was a question that needed asking anyway.

"No. We're not. We would draw too much unwanted attention to ourselves if we do." As much as Clare didn't want to admit it she had to let them know. Staying in Lacroa for any longer was too risky. They can't even ask the locals here any questions regarding Raki and it frustrated her.

"Then, in that case, we should delve further into Lautrec. We still have a trail to follow." Naruto stated to them as he turned his head halfway around to look at them. "Since you know him best, where should we go next?" he asked, directing the question to Clare.

It took a moment or two for Clare to think and when she finished she let out a disgruntled sigh and said, "I… I don't know. There's plenty of places he could be right now." her tone with filled with annoyance and exasperation. She _really_ wanted to see him again, she really did, but there was a lot of ground to cover in Lautrec.

"Well… in that case… why don't you go to all the places you and Raki had been at seven years ago?" When she and Raki had been travelling together they would have been to plenty of places. Personally, if he was in Raki's shoes, then he would go to all the previous places he had been with Clare in the hopes of running into her again.

Clare blinked and gave him a questioning look and gestured for him to continue. Naruto scratched his chin and with a sigh, the blond elaborated, "Well, if I was in Raki's shoes and I had been separated from you for seven years, the first thing I would do is go to all the places you and I had been to in the hopes of running into each other again. It's a long shot but it is likely that Raki is doing just that."

Clare scrunched up her face in thought. That...was a good point now that she thought about it. "Well, in that case I would go to the town of Doga first. That place is where Raki and I first met. There's a desert about a week away from it, if my memory is right. If he's not there then I would go to the town of Egon next, because that is the town I brought him too when I found him unconscious in the desert shortly after I finished an assignment in the town of Stora."

"Well, that means we have two locations to search!" Naruto declared as he made a fist and drove it into his open palm.

"What about Rafaela? What are we going to do about her?" Cynthia asked as she had felt they were forgetting about her. After Rubel led Naruto to a secluded place to talk she, Yuma, Jean, Clare, and Flora all shadowed after them to make sure nothing was going to happen to Naruto. They heard the conversation Naruto had with the man, and the apology Naruto gave to Noma, Lina, and Areth.

"I'll be keeping an eye out for her too," reassured Naruto, "Since her disappearance is recent Rafaela hasn't spent the last seven years making her yoki suppressed to the point of being invisible. She's using suppressants to help with that, and it will give me some time to look for her. So, once we're at a far enough distance from this town I'll make a few clones and have them spread out and look for her before she does something stupid."

Like tracking down and trying to kill her sister.

"Now that we got a plan of action we should get going," Cynthia told them. "The longer we stay here, the more we risk of being discovered."

Naruto nodded with wholehearted agreement at her instruction. "You heard her ladies, let's get moving." He told the other four with encouragement and soon enough the six of them were now making their way out of Lacora and proceeded to delve further into Lautrec once they were out of the town.

Clare was feeling rather dejected though because she hadn't been able to do what she intended: get information on Raki's whereabouts. But they had two new destinations now, so despite the setback they had it wasn't all bad. And as Naruto promised, once they were at a far enough distance from Lacroa the blond quickly made a small group of Shadow Clones and had them dash off in different directions in the search for Rafaela. Naruto, on the other hand, kept moving on towards Raki's hometown.

Well, they won't be getting any more delays at the very least. Clare quietly thanked whatever god or goddess was watching down on them, because that cloning ability of Naruto's is so damn useful for things like this!


	35. Chapter 33

Meanwhile, somewhere in Mucha, Helen and Deneve were making good time in getting to the former's hometown. 20 days of travel and neither of them had run into any Awakened Ones, Youma or Claymore. It certainly helped their youki is suppressed to the point of being invisible; unless you had _really_ good sensing prowess then they would be right under your nose and you wouldn't even know about it.

As they walked along the dirt path, somewhere within a mountainside Deneve spared a look towards her friend and found the woman looking over the piece of paper with the intricate seal Naruto had given to them before they had left for the Southern Region of This World. Deneve rolled her eyes and looked ahead; Helen had been looking at that piece of paper ever since she got it. She wanted to know if the thing worked like Naruto said it would. She never did try to see if it did, for obvious reasons.

"Put that thing away before you break it, Helen," Deneve told her friend several minutes later, once it became clear Helen was not going to put it away any time soon unless she was told to. "That's the only thing that can get us out of trouble if we run into it."

Ever since Mucha had been usurped by the Abyssal One of the North, Isley had never ventured out of the South. While the chances of them running into him were very small, as the South was _massive_ , the possibility was still there and Deneve wanted to make sure they had _every_ option available to them on the off chance things do not go their way. And knowing their luck something was bound to happen.

"But aren't you curious to see if it actually works?!" Helen asked as she looked over to her friend.

"Yes, Helen, I am _very_ curious to see if it works. But I'm not going to risk damaging it either." It would be very bad if one of their means of escape from trouble wasn't working because _someone_ kept fiddling around with it. Their youki is suppressed now but it's only a matter of time when they find themselves in a situation where they are unable to keep their youki buried. And with the South likely being a festering pool of Awakened Ones there is a good chance they'll find themselves in such a situation. "Now put it away before you do damage it."

"Eh, alright." With a shrug, Helen put the paper-seal in the safety of her pouch. As much as she wanted to know if it worked or not, they only had the two. If one of them was damaged then using it would be very risky.

The woman remembered what Naruto told them when he handed the paper-seals to them twenty days ago in Rabona. And Helen also remembered the questions she and Deneve both had asked regarding them.

* * *

Twenty Days ago.

A clone of Naruto handed Helen and Deneve two paper-seals; once it was taken from his hand the clone said, "Make sure the paper-seals is not damaged in any way. Doing that or altering the seal matrix itself can have very bad consequences on the person that uses it."

"What kind of consequences?" Helen asked, examining it thoroughly with a look of childish curiosity.

"It's hard to say," the clone replied with honesty, "The seal is designed to bring you back here once it's exposed to the first type of energy it comes in contact with. So if you were to use your youki while you were holding it, you will be brought back here. That said if it's damaged and you were to use it..." the clone trailed off with a look of uncertainty, "anything could happen. You could end up in a volcano for example."

Deneve sucked her teeth, "Right. Keeping it safe is a priority then."

The clone nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Keeping it safe is a must. In case you're wondering, it's recommended for it to be used for one person. In theory, one of those can be used for more than one person, if you were holding on to the person grasping the paper. I wouldn't try doing that unless it's an emergency though."

"Understood," Deneve replied with a firm nod. She sent a look Helen's way, but the woman in question didn't notice as she was still looking at her paper-seal with child-like curiosity.

"One more thing," said the clone, "those seals are a one-way trip. Once it's used it can never be used again and you will have to backtrack to the last place you were. So I recommend using it if you're in a very dire situation."

* * *

While Helen did take his warning to heart, the woman's curiosity still got the better of her. Deneve had gone above and beyond the Call of Duty to keep the woman from accidentally damaging the paper-seal.

Those thoughts aside, Helen closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose, then exhaled, "Haaaaaaaaa… smell that Deneve? All that fresh air and pollen?!"

"Yes, Helen, I can smell it." the woman answered, not looking the least bit interested at first glance.

Helen chuckled at that, knowing her best friend well enough for that to not be true. She put her hands behind her head with a bright smile. She remembered her hometown as a farming village, with lots of trees, berry bushes, herbs and flowers. So the smell reminded her of that.

Helen opened her mouth to say something, only for the words to die on the tip of her tongue, coming to a complete stop when both she and Deneve sensed a small group of youki auras nearby. Helen looked towards her friend, who looked back at her.

"Wanna go check it out?" Helen offered.

"Might as well," Deneve replied with a shrug.

With that, the two of them put their destination on hold for a moment as they went to investigate.

* * *

It took a bit, due to the youki auras moving around; eventually, though, Helen and Deneve had managed to track down the people they had sensed. Now sitting up against the edge of a cliff that overlooked a river, both women were watching a team of claymores fighting against a single Awakened Being.

The sound of fighting, defiant roars of the awakened one, and splashing water filled the area.

Two of the claymores was currently out of commission, one was lying up against a tree and the other was lying over a tree root that was above the water, Helen and Deneve were able to sense their auras and thus knew they were still alive. The remaining two claymores were still fighting on, though out of the two only one had the youki aura of a single digit warrior.

The Awakened Being being fought stood on two legs, had three tails that are longer than its body, two pairs of arms, and a feline-like head with four eyes that lacked a bottom jaw. Its head was angled in such a way one could literally see into its gaping maw; two layers of jagged teeth surrounded it, showing that anyone unlucky enough to get caught by the awakened one would be in for a _very_ painful and bloody demise.

Both Helen and Deneve watched the still conscious claymores fighting the awakened ones in silence.

"So…" Helen started with a look of near curiosity, "where do you think they slipped up, Deneve?"

"Well, they made several mistakes," the woman in question stated. "But the biggest one was allowing themselves to be drawn into the water. Because of that, they lost their biggest advantage."

"Yeah. Speed." Helen said with a nod of agreement. "They would have had an easier time taking on that thing on solid ground."

Helen perked up when the Awakened One let out a defiant roar as it tried to crush the single-digit warrior with one of its clawed hands, but the girl's reaction time was impressive because despite the speed the monster had with its arm, the girl had quickly hopped back and out of the way before it could crush her.

The girl landed on both feet in the river, glaring up at the towering monster with grit teeth while the other girl was panting heavily. The poor thing looked so tired to the point she would fall over from exhaustion.

"It wasn't a good team to start with anyway," Deneve continued as she leaned forward with a slight frown. "Apart from the single-digit leader they all lack experience. They are not at the level where they should be hunting Awakened Beings. I'm guessing the other three are ranked in the 30 to 40 range; the more experienced warriors are most probably off taking care of other problems. So I'd say man-power is the Organization's biggest issue and-"

Deneve cut herself off when she heard her best friend chuckling beside her; turning to look at her with a small frown, the woman saw Helen had a close-eyed smirk on her face. Deneve frowned. Was something she said funny?

Deneve furrowed her brow, "...? What's so funny, Helen?" she questioned.

Helen snickered and glanced at her friend with a grin, "Heh heh heh, a long time ago you said something really similar and ended up getting saved by a certain low-ranked kid is all."

Deneve arched her eyebrows at that, before quickly looking away from Helen's smirking face. "...Don't remind me about that. It's embarrassing."

"Hey, it's not exactly a happy memory for me either," Helen said in good humour, inwardly though, the woman shuddered. That was a brush with death she did not want to go through again.

"Hey, speaking of…"

"Hmm?" sounded Deneve, looking over to Helen with one eye.

"What do you think about Clare? If she was to take on Miria, who do you think would win?" the woman asked as she was genuinely curious to see who her best friend would think would win between the two.

Closing her eye Deneve shrugged and leaned her head down, "I don't know. It's hard to tell. Despite being limited in what he can teach Naruto's helped train all of us; but in terms of speed, power, stamina and above all, skill… Miria is superior in every way. Even if you factor in the strength of spirit, Miria is still stronger than Clare. However, Clare has this limitless explosive power. That certainty is both her strength and her weakness."

"Yeah, I get'cha. She's like a hot-headed kid." Helen groaned as she stretched her arms to get the kinks out of them. Despite how she acts, Clare looks calm on the outside, but she's surprisingly childish in a lot of ways. "So… if all of us were to go up against Naruto, would we win?"

Deneve didn't _need_ to think of the answer to that. "No. Despite the improvements the seventeen of us made in seven years, Naruto is still capable of beating us. Naruto _would_ hold back if we were to fight, but it wouldn't make a difference."

"But he _is_ weakened. He doesn't have that fox inside him." Helen reminded. "Not to mention Rigardo beat him."

"Rigardo beat him because Naruto _allowed_ himself to be beaten." Deneve pointed out, "If he won, then we would have had to fight the Abyssal One of the North and who else he had with him at the time." Helen shuddered at that reminder; Isley The Abyssal One of the North had someone powerful by his side and she did _not_ fancy facing... whoever that was. "Not to mention his Sage Mode exhausts him when it runs out and needs to remain completely still to regain it. But if Naruto had prepared himself beforehand, made some clones to act as his backup, then he would have won that fight hands down. But back to the point: Naruto would still defeat us because there are just so many things he can do that we can't."

"Right…" then Helen pouted and crossed her arms against her chest like a child, "...I wanna be able to control water like that…" she said in a manner resembling someone who did not get their way.

The corner of Deneve's smirk quirked upwards, almost forming a smirk. "Same here. I want to be able to control water like that myself. And the ground too. It would make fighting Awakened Beings and Youma a lot easier."

"Can't argue with that." Helen said with a laid back shrug; she had seen what Naruto was capable of with that chakra of his. She just wished there was a way for them to be able to learn it too. She would be able to make the elements her _bitch!_

Despite themselves looking laid back and unconcerned, both women were more than ready to jump in if things were about to take a turn for the worst. The _only_ reason they didn't do so was because the single-digit still had a claymore in the fight. They will interfere with the fight when one of the two gets knocked unconscious, or injured to the point of falling unconscious. It would allow them to knock out the remaining warrior then take care of the Awakened Being without a hassle.

In Alphonse, there had been plenty of times they had to bail out a team of Claymores when they had bitten off more than they can chew. Though they had to do it while said teams were knocked out or incapacitated. They would be there one second, and the next, they would be gone before the teams knew what had happened. Like a ghost. There was a reason why they had been nicknamed 'The Ghosts of Pieta' after all.

Helen found the nickname 'The Ghosts of Pieta' to be a dozen times better than Naruto's, even if the nickname belonging to the blond in question was accurate.

Then again, knowing Deneve, she would probably remind her of Miria's words back in Rabona or something, before telling her she would have her back if she wanted to get involved in the fight.

The woman was taken out of her train of thoughts upon hearing one of the women, the non-single digit warrior, letting out a pained scream as she was cut down and collapsed into the river. The single digit warrior was the only one standing now.

A wide-eyed Helen got up on her hands and knees and leaned forward, "So, they're finally down to one. The other three aren't dead yet, but it doesn't look to good for them." observed the woman.

"The single digit did well in lasting this long." Deneve said with acknowledgement, "It seems like she is the only one in that group who has experience in fighting Awakened Ones." mentally, Deneve noted the team would have done a bit better if they had another member with experience in fighting Awakened Beings among them. That particular unit below in the river was under-prepared and very inexperienced for this kind of combat. It wouldn't be all that surprising if this team got a total party wipe because of that inexperience and unless that single-digit warrior pulls off a miracle, that was _exactly_ what was going to happen.

"Hey, Deneve, what should we do?" Helen asked as she turned to address her best friend, "Should we go help them…?"

Deneve closed her eyes and let out a huff, "You heard what Miria said, 'Don't get into needless fights'." Helen gave the woman a dull stare. Yep, she had been expecting Deneve to say something like that. Always the responsible one, that woman. "It will cause us a lot of trouble if we were to reveal ourselves to the current warriors," added the woman, before she paused and looked to address her friend, "But, despite all of that, if you tell me you can't stay out of it… then I am willing to back you up. Not that I am encouraging you to do it."

Helen blinked, seemingly surprised, then she shrugged grasped the hilt of her sword and yanked it out of the ground, "Nah. It'd be better not too. It's not like they're our comrades or anything. And besides I hate getting wet." she said with a dismissive, but utterly bored tone that did well in hiding her rising bloodlust. "Let's head back on the road. Safety first right?" she questioned with an easy-going grin that almost hid the bloodthirstiness, while the woman secured her sword to the sword-carrier on the back with a metallic _'Gashak'_.

Helen ignored the single digit warrior fighting for her life, and said as she grabbed her cloak and secured it to her shoulders, "We'll probably end up fighting her sooner or later anyway. And she's a strong one too, so it would be better for us if she was taken out now."

"Hm?" Deneve shot a quick glance to the single digit when she let out a pained cry; the Awakened One managed to get the girl in the arm and in the waist.

"Ookey. On the road again~" Helen said singingly, with her grin becoming a slight bit more deranged.

Deneve gave her friend a dull stare. "Your bloodlust is up, Helen."

The woman in question cackled impishly. "Well," she said, "Maybe Clare's not the only rebel among us." Then, she discarded her cloak and leapt off the cliff like a madwoman "To hell with your caution and Miria's orders!" Helen shouted on the way down. "I'm gonna take down this Awakened One all by my hot-headed self!"

Her descent to the river had captured the attention of the Awakened Being and on her way down, the madly grinning Helen muttered "Turn, turn, turn, and…" as she twisted her arm around several times to perform the Drillsword, before letting it loose and shouting "BAM!" at the top of her voice as she _slammed_ into the river with a mighty _'KaPlash!'!_.

The top left arm of the Awakened Being had been severed from the shoulder, reduced to a bloody paste thanks to Helen's version of Jean's Drillsword. It let out a howl of agony from having one of its arms severed from its body. Helen's sudden entrance startled the single digit who took a single step back with a gasp out of sheer surprise.

"Honestly…" started Deneve, who now had both her sword in her hands, "she's always, always so willful. There's just no stopping her." then she opened her eyes and stared down at the now three-armed Awakened Being, "Well, what's done is done. Looks like we're defying your orders, Miria."

Helen, meanwhile, was laughing like a madwoman as she rolled around in the water… while effortlessly dodging the lengthened fingers of the Awakened Being that tried stabbing her. Then the woman stood up, and slashed off the fingers of its lower left arm with a bloodthirsty cry of "Eat this!"

Then Helen blinked in surprise as she saw someone quickly descending from the cliff she was on, "Oh."

The feline-like Awakened Being let out another pained cry when its upper right arm got severed, courtesy of Deneve who _slammed_ into the lake and took position beside Helen - who was standing in front of the sole awake claymore who stared at their backs with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Wh-what are you-"

She was interrupted by Helen's backhand and Deneve's kick. The girl staggered back and glared at them, barely at all affected. "What was _that_ for?!" She leapt back to get out of their range and glared at them warily. "So, you _are_ enemies…"

Both of her new 'opponents' looked visibly surprised at her recovery. That should have knocked her out!

"Did we go too easy on her?" Helen asked. "Was the training Naruto put us through not enough?"

"No, she's just incredibly strong," Deneve replied. She could sense it. This… rather small woman was much tougher than she looked.

Hearing _that_ name made the brunch-haired woman look at them in surprise. There was only _one_ person with that name, "W-wait… you two know the Youma Hunter?" she asked, her anger at them all but forgotten.

Helen and Deneve looked behind them when they heard the now two-armed Awakened Being hissing angrily at them. All three women were quick to jump back; the Awakened Being raised its head in Helen's direction and several dozen tendril-like appendages shot out of its jawless maw towards the woman.

"Uh-oh. It's after me now," the woman in question noted with wide eyes; then she felt the youki aura of the claymore they tried to knock out moments before behind her, and she quickly looked at the woman from over the shoulder, "Oh shi- what're you?!"

"HELEN!" Deneve cried out in alarm.

The single-digit warrior grabbed Helen by the shoulder and pulled the woman out of the way of the tendril-like appendages before she could be skewered by them. All three women landed safely in the water moments later, though Helen was looking at the short woman with surprise.

"You… why did you…?"

"Now that I think about it, you hit me with your fist, not your sword," The woman replied, giving Helen a curious look. "You weren't trying to kill me. You were trying to knock me out, weren't you?" The girls looked a bit worried as they saw the wheels in her head start to turn. "The Youma Hunter was last seen in the North, with 27 warriors who fell in battle there… or so the saying goes. You mentioned him training you which means you're associated with him. Does that mean you're survivors of Pieta? Is that why you were trying to avoid being identified?"

"Geez, she's like Miria," Helen muttered and she would have palmed her own face for her little blunder earlier. Fricking wonderful; she was able to deduce all that by that name alone!

"So it would seem," Deneve added with a sigh.

Helen exhaled sharply and darted her eyes between the young woman and the Awakened Being, "So, what Number are you?"

"Number 8. My name is Dietrich." the young woman answered, "You never answered my question: are you two survivors of Pieta? Are there more of you around?"

"Let's take care of the Awakened Being first… then _maybe_ we'll answer." Deneve bartered.

"Fair enough," she relented. "Can you help me get my comrades out of the way first, though?"

"Eh, sure why not?" Helen replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"We'll take one each. How's that?" Deneve added.

"It is much appreciated. Thank you." Dietrich answered; then the water splashed as the three of them dashed off at the same time, holding onto the unconscious Claymores in a fireman's carry as they brought them to safety.

The Awakened Being growled and tried to skewer Deneve with more of its tendril-like appendages that shot out of its mouth. The woman in question leapt forward towards the cliffside and avoided them before they could get her; the water and ground exploded up as the many appendages slammed into the ground where Deneve had been standing.

"Up we go," muttered the woman in question as she hopped on up the cliff, using any platforms she could get her feet onto. The extra mouth-piece appendages slammed into the cliff's surface, missing Deneve entirely as she hopped on to the top. The woman landed in a kneel and carefully set the unconscious woman safely up against a wall.

"Okay. She'll be safe here. Now then…" Brandishing her swords Deneve backflipped off the ledge of the cliff and made her way back down to the lake, and dodged many more of the tendril-like appendages that tried to run her through. She used one of them as a platform and quickly pushed herself off it down towards the Awakened Being. Then she stabbed two of its eyes and hopped off its head before it could get a chance to attack.

The Awakened Being let out a _very_ pissed off, very pained roar, and made to attack Deneve again… only for Helen to interfere with her Drillsword. It pulled its head back at the last minute to avoid Helen's attack, but still lost much of its upper mouth.

"Tch… did I miss the head?" She yelled rhetorically. Helen looked behind her in midair and found it reaching out to her with one of its two hands with the intent on making its fingers extend to impale her. Only for that hand to get lopped off by Dietrich! The woman in question used the stump as a platform and in a great display of leg strength she jumped several feet into the air, right above the head of the Awakened being and brought her sword to bare.

"With just one step off the creature's body, she can reach such a height?" Deneve rhetorically questioned, knowing full well that no one was going to answer her. "Finish it. It's all yours." she declared to Dietrich.

"Though you are now stained with blood and darkness, you were once a fellow warrior." Dietrich declared as gravity began to take its hold on her, "With this single blow I atone for and honour a former comrade," And once she began to go down, the young woman used her weight and the momentum of her descent and brought her sword down, slicing the Awakened Being in half from head to groin.

The two halves fell into the river as Dietrich, Helen and Deneve all landed in the water.

"Whoo! Down in one! Not bad at all." Helen complimented with a broad faced grin.

"She compensated for her small size and weight by striking from a great height so she could cleeve it in two." Deneve noted with a hint of admiration in her voice. It's the first time she had seen something like that being used, "So she does have experience in fighting Awakened Ones."

Not to mention that girl had managed to pull it off while injured! Deneve figured the injuries the now deceased Awakened Being dealt to her was superficial than previously thought.

Dietrich meanwhile put her sword back into its carrier on her back and let out a relieved sigh. Then she sent a look Helen and Deneve's way and sent them a thankful nod, before looking up at the cliff they had brought the rest of her team.

* * *

Sometime later, Dietrich was on top of the cliff she, Deneve and Helen had brought the rest of her team too. The former was kneeling in front of the three unconscious women and was searching for any grievous injuries. They had none.

"How are those three?" Helen asked. "They gonna pull through?"

"They're fine," Dietrich replied. "No major injuries; they're just unconscious. They should be waking up soon, though."

"Glad to hear it," Helen chirped.

"You two were of great help," Dietrich said as she stood up and turned to address them, "If you didn't come when you did, the four of us likely would have perished. You have my thanks… however, I still want my questions answered; are you two survivors of Pieta, and are you associated with the Youma Hunter?"

Well, this was awkward…

"Uh… would you mind not telling anyone you saw us?" Helen asked evasively.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Dietrich commented. "Unfortunately, I cannot do that... I swore an oath to the organization that I would never lie." There was a brief pause and then she continued. "Fortunately, I am the only witness, so you can either kill me now or…" She blushed and averted her gaze, "You could t-take me prisoner so that the Youma Hunter can... interrogate me." Hopefully in a _very_ sexual manner, though that was left unsaid.

Deneve sighed in exasperation. Her 'troublemaker senses' were tingling. As for Helen, she grinned like a loon.

"Oh-ho-ho! Someone's got a crush I take it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dietrich muttered shyly as she crossed her arms against her chest. The short woman even turned her head away even more to the point she had to slightly turn her waist.

Both Helen and Deneve could smell the lie coming from her a mile away. It was painfully obvious this was a girl with a crush. Though that made the former curious. _Why_ does she have a crush on someone she doesn't know…?

"Say… I have a question for ya' shrimp; how come you're acting like this towards someone you don't know?"

"I… he... um," Dietrich hesitated, her cheeks flaring. "He saved me as a child seven years ago," she said. "I was young, impressionable… though I will admit that I was around the age where little girls first start to become interested in boys, that has _nothing_ to do with it; I don't have a crush… not at all. I just… want to thank him." she told them in the most convincing manner she could possibly manage.

And be kidnapped… and interrogated… and be taken advantage of. Her cheeks turned even redder at the thought as her imagination started to run wild with all the things he could force her to do. Oh, the humanity...

Helen and Deneve meanwhile were exchanging looks and thus completely missed what was happening before them, because they were having a quiet discussion of their own. "Naruto never said anything about saving someone…" the former quietly murmured to her friend.

"He _has_ been wandering around for three months before Flora found him," the latter pointed out, equally as quiet as Helen and completely oblivious to Dietrich's squirming. "It's very likely he merely forgot."

"Or it just never came up," Helen added with a shrug. "Considering that he was called the 'Youma Hunter' before Flora shatched him up, it's likely that he killed a _lot_ of them and saved a few people as a result."

Well, Naruto's 'Hunting Ground' was in Mucha for those three months and he had gotten around a lot. He never stayed in one place too long either and it eventually got to the point where other warriors knew of him. Elder Rimuto himself took notice and the rest is history.

As for Dietrich she was still in her little, not-so-innocent, world.

'… _and then he would tie me up and bend me over the table and spank me until I submit to him like a good girl before grabbing my hair and then using me like a cheap-'_

"Well! I guess you win, shorty," Helen relented aloud, pulling a startled yelp from the poor thing.

One could practically see the question marks floating above Helen and Deneve's heads at her reaction. That was… weird.

"S-sorry, just distracted is all," Dietrich muttered, subtly covering her chest and crotch. They couldn't tell if she was suddenly rather... horny, right? Oh, gods, she hoped not!

"Well… okay." Helen said with a dismissive shrug, "Anyway, we don't want the Organization to know about us. So far they're only aware of the Youma Hunter being alive. We want it to be kept that way, so I suppose we have no choice but to 'kidnap' you." then the woman smiled brightly and surprised Dietrich by going over to her and throwing an arm around the short-statured girl's shoulders, "Besides, I guess you can act as a guide of sorts for us. We don't know how changed the South is since we spent the past seven years in Alphonse, so having someone that knows the area would be nice." It would make getting to her hometown a lot easier as well if they had a guide to escort them through 'hotspots' they're unaware of.

Dietrich blinked owlishly as she looked up at the woman, "Uh… r-right."

Deneve rolled her eyes and put both her swords into the sword carrier she had on her back. Helen did the same as well before throwing a concerned glance to the still unconscious women, "So, what should we do with them?"

"I don't sense any youki auras in our general location." answered Dietrich, "They'll be safe here until they wake up."

"Alright." Helen said with a nod before giving the short girl a bright smile and started pulling her along with her as she walked away, "Come on, princess, let's go!"

"Okay…?" Dietrich answered, though she sounded very confused. She nevertheless allowed herself to be pulled away by Helen.

"Oh, by the way," Helen started, making Dietrich look up at her once more, "Naruto's a bit of an ass man. And from what I saw, you have a nice ass. So, I think he'll like you~"

Dietrich's face immediately turned deep red from her collarbone all the way up to the roots of her hair and she quickly averted her gaze. She really hoped he would like her… _not_ for that reason. Nope, _definitely_ not for that. Even if her butt was one of her best _ass_ ets… pun completely intended.

As she heard Deneve's exasperated sigh beside her Dietrich had a feeling the woman who had her arm around her shoulder was the playful type. Something told her being around these two would not get boring any time soon.


End file.
